


The Story of Nobody

by Beliyal, Hisha



Category: Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Gen, modern day AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-03 19:34:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 29,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1755309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beliyal/pseuds/Beliyal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisha/pseuds/Hisha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Aku broke free from the tree much later? (Modern day AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Rebirth of Evil

     Summer began on a hot day that year, with the sun shining brightly, announcing even hotter days to come. A group of people made their way to their destination : a lonesome hill with an ancient prize sitting upon it. For decades, the prize was standing proudly, eating the sunrays which shone at its dark face, but for another couple of decades it was obscured by the mud that hid it from the eyes of men. Earthquakes settled the deal many years ago and hid even the tallest of black spikes ; but it was also the earthquakes that finally exposed the spikes to the light of the sun once more.

Whenever they were visible, the spikes sent fear into the hearts of people who saw them. Humans had many names for the mysterious anomaly which stood on this hill, the true origin and purpose of it long forgotten. Legends had been shared through the centuries, as had been the names. But one name remained. People named the anomaly The Dark Tree, as it mostly resembled a twisted, dead tree that was snapped at the trunk, with roots still greedily intertwined with the dirt and the remains of the bark still greedily yearning for the sunlight. It was black and had many spikes, which made people reluctant to approach it and see what it actually was. Nothing grew in its midst ; this fact sparked even more terrifying legends about the curse that struck the land in days long past. Legends of a monster buried and sealed into the darkness below the ground.

But the days of legends were over. When the Dark Tree emerged again, humanity was all grown up and ready to investigate on that hot first day of summer. A group of people settled around the Tree, approached the spikes that protruded from the ground and began unpacking their equipment. Not more than half an hour later, chatter filled the air and was mixed with sounds of digging. The heat made the dirt dry and crispy ; it was breaking under the shovels and made the work harder than it should have been. The team persisted nonetheless. To be there and to investigate an ages old mystery was an honour and the time had finally come to understand what the Dark Tree truly was.

One person in the team, an agile middle-aged woman, was overlooking the operation. Mysteries of the past like these were one of the reasons she got interested in archaeology in the first place. Now she had the opportunity to study and uncover them. With a smile on her lips, she made sure that the workers were careful and that there was progress ; slowly, she began seeing bits of the Tree's roots. As the woman stood and watched, her only regret was that she couldn’t be with her daughter, even though she knew the girl would be spending her birthday with her friend. The lead archaeologist sighed and knew her child would understand ; this was a discovery of a lifetime. With eagerness in her heart, the archaeologist joined the workers.

"There seems to be no materials around the Tree," one of the younger workers informed her.

"That is interesting," she noted. "We were never truly sure if the Tree was man-made. The fact that there is nothing man-made around it could mean it is not. However, it could also mean a variety of other things," she added cheerfully.

She could name dozens of legends about the Dark Tree, on the top of her head. Each was more interesting than the previous one and, while she was digging so close to it, she felt so proud to be there. The roots were so firmly fixed into the ground she could hardly believe this was a natural occurrence, especially since the Tree didn't feel like anything natural to the touch. One thing was certain : it was most definitely _not_ _a_ _tree_.

The archaeologist teemed with excitement as they uncovered more of the mystery. Even as the dark material of the Tree reflected the heat of the sun and made everyone tired and weary, they dug on. Spikes started showing from all sides, glistening in the light after so many years in the dirt. For a few moments, the archaeologist thought the Tree was breathing in its first breath of air in a long time. It was remarkable how well preserved the whole thing was. She made sure to write down all of her observations in her journal. One of the most important ones was how the Tree didn’t seem to be made of any natural material and that it therefore must be man-made. But what was it? She asked herself this while holding the journal in her hands, looking at the Tree and shielding her eyes from the sun behind it.

Someone on the other side of the Tree called her all of a sudden and she hurried to see what it was about. Maybe they just found something that would allow them to place the thing in a time period, or maybe tell them at least something of its purpose. So far, the only thing she could think of was the possibility that it was a grave. But a grave for who? Or _what_? Chills ran down her spine as she remembered some of the more terrifying legends and then arrived to the other team. She looked at them as they were all standing away from the Tree, with the exception of one worker who was trying to pull a pickaxe from one of the Tree's roots.

"What happened here?" the lead archaeologist asked.

"The root just appeared out of nowhere," the worker said, still trying to pull the pickaxe out.

The lead archaeologist wasn't happy about this, but mistakes happen on all archaeological digs. Things get accidentally hit, thrown, broken or forgotten. She hurried to help the worker get his pickaxe out of the root and they grabbed the tool together and pulled. On their fourth try, the pickaxe left the root and the archaeologist came closer to see the damage. There was an almost invisible little crack in the root. The archaeologist was about to move and tell everyone to get back to their positions when the root _twitched._ The woman gasped in surprise and stumbled back. She looked to the right and to the left and thought that perhaps the sun was making her dizzy, but the other roots were also twitching. This previously inanimate object began spasming and retracting its roots, like a wounded animal trying to outrun the hunter's dogs.

The archaeologist heard the commotion behind her and stumbled again, trying to understand what was happening. She found nothing in her memory that would explain what she was seeing. Slowly, like in a dream, she paced around the Tree, which was shaking, and returned to her previous post. Everything was the same there as well. Something that stood silently just moments ago was now cracking the dry dirt, pulling its body away from the ones who meddled in it and touched it. The workers already left the pit that housed the Tree that awoke from its slumber, but the lead archaeologist could not. She was petrified in curiosity and terror, a combination that couldn't lead to anything good. The unknown dark _being_ was still twitching and retracting the roots until none were visible and then, as if using them for legs somewhere deep beneath the ground, it started growing, expanding into the air. As it grew, the archaeologist followed it with her gaze as it turned into a black tower which rose and blocked the sun. The woman finally moved, stumbling backwards as if she had forgotten how to walk and left the pit when the black tower stopped growing.

Up above everyone, a dark towering presence suddenly felt more alive than anything anyone had ever seen. It was not a tree and it was not man-made. It was a monster with a crown of horns. What used to be its roots was now like the flowing bottom of a cape. What used to be a tree trunk with broken bark now looked like the slender body of a giant. The archaeologist couldn’t utter any word ; only silence engulfed them all until the giant moved, turning slowly, almost lazily. For such a titan, it was eerie how silently it moved. Gasps followed when it finally turned to see the ones who struck its home. The archaeologist saw a face of legends, a character from a tale her father told her when she was a child and that she in turn told her own children. It was a story, only a story, about evil. A story taught to children so they would behave. A story like any other, a remnant of the past when humanity still believed in monsters. But then this monster spoke with a voice that made it clear there were no stories this time.

"Once again, I am free to smite the world like I did in days old past," it said as the archaeologist observed the distracting flames flickering above its eyes and the teeth like those of ancient masks that were meant to scare the enemy. "I am A-…"

"Aku," the archaeologist finished with a whispe, alongside the monster that spoke, apparently, to no one in particular. But it heard the woman who stood in the dirt.

"Who _dares_ interrupt Aku when he speaks?" the monster asked, angry or curious, she did not know.

It looked down and observed the woman. Now it definitely looked like the monster was curious, but before any more words, the archaeologist heard the footsteps of people behind her, running. _No, no, don't run, he can kill you anyway, he will kill you!_ She thought, surprised at how clearly she remembered the tale. The monster extended its arm ; she heard the ground splitting behind her and then screams.

She did not turn to see. It was clear enough; the legends were true. The Dark Tree was a prison for evil and they set it free.


	2. The Archaeologist and the Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Who are you, mortal?"

At long last, the Deliverer of Darkness was free to destroy as he pleased and the city visible in the distance was the perfect place to start. Over the decades he had seen it change and grow larger than ever from his prison on the hill. However, before he could burn it to the ground like he had been wanting to for so long, he had to deal with the human in front of him. She knew his name : humanity hadn't forgotten about him. And Aku would make sure it would remain that way.

There was something familiar about her, a scent he had already encountered before, and it didn't come from her sweaty skin, but from her blood.

_It was the same blood._

Curiously, he tilted his head, stretching from his long slumber. The pitiful bunch of people behind the woman was still cowering in fear, unable to move after witnessing Aku's power. In an attempt to be certain of who he was dealing with, Aku swiftly swung his arm and heard the woman scream. A thin line of blood graced her cheek and Aku breathed in, remembering the flavour. She was holding her wounded face and Aku extended his arm towards her, grabbing her effortlessly, feeling her fear.

"You know my name," Aku spoke to her while she struggled to escape his grasp. "Who are you, mortal?" he added, bringing her closer to his face.

"I-I am nobody," she barely uttered. Aku saw the terror on her face as she observed him. He smiled viciously.

"I disagree," he told her. "Aku tasted the blood of your kin a long time ago. How _fortunate_ I am to have the opportunity to taste it again."

While still holding the woman, he turned his gaze towards the rest of the humans who stood before him. They might serve their purpose. Aku finally moved out of his prison and focused on the city in the distance.

"You!" he yelled at the people and saw them shaking in fear. "Thank all of you for freeing Aku. Now, you will serve me or you will die," he added and finished with a chilling laugh that echoed through the plains.

He looked at the woman again; a foolish human, hitting him and trying to make him release her. The laugh continued as the woman was trying in vain to free herself.

"And you," the demon said to her, "you will watch as I destroy all you hold dear."

Before departing, he casually raised his other hand and the woman saw more spikes rise from the ground, imprisoning the remaining workers.

Aku heard her screams through his laugh as he hurried towards the city. It was good to be free, to stretch and to fly. He could see that humans had learned new things and tricks while he was imprisoned. Their buildings grew taller and they could ride horseless chariots. They even learned to fly as well. He saw their metallic birds adorn the sky and then heard the calm before the storm as he reached the city. Humans were looking at him, he could feel it and he savoured the moment before the first strike. The woman in his hand was yelling to him, begging him, yet Aku did not oblige her pleas. The time had come for him to finally rule.

First laser beams from his eyes struck the tallest of buildings, searing them in two and the monster watched as the giants crumbled. The sweet song of screaming filled him and he carefully observed the woman in his hand while she screamed alongside her citizens, crying from her prison. Aku laughed. Aku burned with revenge and the city burned with him.

He stomped the wide streets, watching the tiny little beings flee from him. Only there was nowhere safe to go because Aku walked and levelled entire buildings with the ground. He did miss the easily burning wood, but this city burned just as well regardless. During his stride through the streets, he smashed and destroyed with equal joy as he did in the past. These people will pay for his imprisonment and he will make sure that their payment is long and painful.

For hours, he walked and set the city aflame, ridding it off its tall buildings. Those structures would not do. He would make these tiny humans construct him new ones in his name and in his image. Rejoiced, he realized that the screaming did not cease yet. He wondered how many of these pests there were. But it did not matter; whatever their number, they cannot defeat him. Aku waited for them to try.

Their flying metallic birds seared through the sky in thundering formations and Aku saw them fire at him. He laughed again as the boiling lumps of metal struck him. They did no more damage than their most primitive arrows. Aku swung his arm and the bird lunged to the ground, followed with an explosion. Other birds retaliated by shooting him more and more, but the ageless demon did not go down. He danced in the ruins among the flames, smashing the birds from the sky and laughing at their attempts to wound him. Their missiles ended up striking the city instead when Aku got tired of absorbing them. He wished he could see the faces of these humans when they realized that they were dealing more damage than he did. Perhaps the look on the woman’s face would satisfy him ; he observed her but found her unresponsive. _A pity. She should have seen more of the glorious chaos I made._ But he was sure she would see the aftermath and the future of Aku.

Unless… Aku remembered the one thing that could do him harm. He remembered its painful sting and the way it burned. In the ruins of the city, he couldn’t guess where it might have been hidden. If it was in the city at all. Aku observed the unconscious woman in his hand. She knew who he was ; perhaps she knew of the blade. He slowly ceased with the destruction and decided to start building his lair instead, a lair that would be the seat of his new empire.

***

The woman dreamed of war. A monster set fire to the world and she was in the middle of it all, standing, unable to move. Then she opened her eyes and saw the damp, dull darkness. The smell of burned flesh and steel filled her nostrils. She lifted her head and felt the searing pain like she never felt before. Around her, only lit by a few torches here and there, stood black bars that sprouted from the ground, extending into the air, bending towards the ceiling and then meeting in a point right above her. She was in a cage.

In what seemed to be only moments ago, she was an archaeologist, doing her job, wanting to go home at the end of the day and hand her daughter a present. Now, she was a caged bird with clipped wings and no way out. Carefully, she tried to stand up, but her entire body hurt. She managed somehow and grabbed the black bars. There was no way of knowing where she was located. It mostly resembled some kind of cave. Everything was only half-lit and she struggled to see the details, but there were only damaged walls and her cage.

"Hello?" she called and her voice echoed through the area. It seemed spacious.

While she tried to see if she could squeeze through the bars or if there was anything at all that would help her, she heard a shadow strolling through the area. It was followed by a haunting sound, like the wind blowing through a tunnel. Her heart raced and she turned around, only to be faced with the visage of a monster. Aku's eyebrows flickered above his vicious eyes and the woman could see that his fangs were larger than she was.

"That was rude, falling asleep during my presentation," Aku spoke to her and she shivered at the sound of his voice.

She barely remembered the moment she fainted. It was when she saw her neighbourhood in flames and imagined the bodies of her family lying lifelessly. If her family was already dead, she had nothing else to lose and she would not give the monster more satisfaction.

"I studied the falls of civilizations. You did not impress me," she replied to him defiantly, feeling stronger but also realizing her knees were shaking.

The demon laughed at her words for a moment then resumed his serious stance and tone.

"You are more arrogant than your predecessor," Aku said. "Where is the sacred blade?"

The archaeologist felt her heart beating faster. Of course, if the tales about the monster were true, then so were the tales of how the monster was imprisoned. The sacred sword, forged with the help of the higher powers from the righteousness of man. The only thing that could harm Aku. Naturally, he wanted to know where it was.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," she replied.

"Liar," Aku said and then moved away from her cage.

The woman tried to see where he went, however she couldn’t see anything in the darkness outside her cage. Then she heard more screams. They were close, echoing through the area. Moments later, Aku returned to her and she jumped away from the bars.

"I will ask you for the sword again and again. Each time you do not answer, one of your friends will pay for your insolence!" he yelled.

He moved again and behind him she saw a pedestal with more black spikes, except one of these was adorned with a human, nailed to the pillar with thorns. _One of her workers_. Tears filled her eyes as she watched her colleague bleed on that mockery of a cross. But as she almost yelled for Aku, she saw the man shake his head while staring directly at her.

Aku fulfilled his promise. He returned again with the question about the sword and the archaeologist said _no_ and more spikes followed. Every spike hurt her like she was on it instead of her friends, but they all shook their heads when she stared at them, asking them silently if she should yield. Even though they didn't understand the story or the monster, they clearly understood that the monster's inquiry was something important. Something worth dying for. And the woman agreed. She would carry the secret of the sword to her grave if she must. If Aku got the sacred blade and destroyed or hid it, humanity would be doomed. She will not yield. She will escape and she will get the sword and strike the monster back.


	3. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But this was a chance. A chance to run.

Four days passed. She was now the sole survivor of the team that inadvertently freed the self-proclaimed Shogun of Sorrow from his centuries old prison.

She opened her eyes. She didn’t even remember falling asleep. The caged woman figured that, after a few days without being able to sleep, she had finally collapsed. Her body didn’t appreciate its stay on the cold hard floor and reminded her of this fact every time she tried to move. Then, after some struggle, she managed to stand up. All the while, one of those red-clad humanoid creatures Aku had summoned to do his biddings (when had he learned such magic?) was watching her. Its eyes, which were the only part of the creature’s body that wasn’t covered in its red and black uniform, didn’t blink even once. The markings on the creature’s outfit looked exactly like a certain monster’s shape, just in case the prisoner could forget who this demon was serving.

Its master was nowhere in sight ; maybe he was causing some more destruction somewhere else. The woman felt a chill run down her spine. As terrifying as Aku was, she dreaded his absence the most because she didn’t know what he was up to. And her imagination was running wild in the darkness of his improvised lair.

She doubted the demon would be satisfied with vengeance. He had the power to set the world ablaze and she had seen first hand that he was certainly _not_ afraid to use it.

Aku had to be stopped ; if no-one prevented him from causing further destruction, the lead archaeologist’s workers would have died in vain.

But how could she break free from this cage? She had no idea what material the bars were made of but it wouldn’t let itself be broken, bent or damaged in any way. And this guard that was staring at her without ever blinking…

Another one, identical to the first, entered the underground lair then threw a small water bottle and a food can between the bars. The prisoner caught them both right before they could roll out of her cage then threw back the now empty bottle she was given two days prior. The creature caught it in mid-air before the object could reach its face.

Aku still hoped his prisoner would give him the information he needed. She wanted to tell him he was wasting his time and she would never reveal where the sacred blade was kept ; however she knew it would be a bad idea. Indeed, as long as this accursed demon believed the human could be useful to him, he would keep her alive. Maybe not in the best conditions, but alive nonetheless.

As she sat down, opened the food can and started eating (she was too hungry to complain that the food wasn’t cooked), she witnessed the two identical minions whispering to each other. What were they talking about? She couldn’t make out what they were saying…

Moments later, the minions shifted their gaze from each other to her. She watched their cold stares and wondered what horrors might follow. The demons approached the bars of the cage ; she was ready to defend herself in any way she possibly could. As they stood in front of the cage, two of the bars started retracting into the ground. The woman watched the gap slowly appearing before her eyes, clearly creating a way for her to get out. Or maybe for the minions to get in.

With a sigh of relief, she saw the creatures just standing outside of the cage, waiting. Slowly, she stood up and made a few careful steps, not knowing what was happening.

"You are being transported. Hurry up, human," one of the minions spoke with a deep, disturbing voice.

The prisoner stepped out of the cage and was promptly grabbed by the two red-clad demons. They held her arms and half-pushed, half-pulled her to walk forward. Two other minions joined the escorting group. She noticed that one of them was still staring at her. The woman shivered but decided to try to ignore it. She looked ahead and saw the faint light approaching. It was such a pleasure to see the light again. Everything else in the last four days was just darkness, occasional fires and the dampness of the _cave_. She couldn't wait to see where she was.

The first step out in the open blinded her. It was a sunny day again, just like it was when the world ended. The woman slowly adjusted to the light as the minions were pushing her to walk. She saw the ruins of her city and glanced behind while she still could. _The entrance into the metro_. In his conquest, Aku must have destroyed below just as he did above. He made his lair in the ruins, though it appeared he might be moving to a more adequate place. The woman wondered where that could be. She tried to remember more of her father's stories about Aku and the ancient legend, but her mind was too weak after four days of confinement. Her body wasn't any better either. Her legs hurt as she walked. But this was a chance. _A chance to run_.

The minions were holding her tightly but the archaeologist cleared her mind and focused on noticing a weakness _in them_. There were none as of yet. Two held her arms, two followed. One stared without blinking. Collapsed buildings were all around them. The woman couldn't even tell where exactly they were in the city. It was only a few minutes later that she saw the first direction sign that somehow escaped the destruction. _They were close!_ The knowledge that her goal wasn’t too far away gave her strength to go on with her plan as soon as she was able to.

It came no more than ten minutes after the sign. The human heard an explosion somewhere in the city, instinctively lowered her head and then saw a pillar of smoke in the corner of her eye. She casually eyed the smoke that seemed to be coming from the vicinity, then observed her captors. They were all looking at the smoke, frozen on the spot, as if waiting for orders. Even the minion that kept staring at her earlier was now ignoring her.

The woman took a deep breath. With one swing of her arm, she freed herself from one of the minions. She swung her arm again and hit the other minion, thus freeing herself completely. Without any second thought, she ran. No looking back, no remorse. Ignoring the pain in her legs. Ignoring the yelling. She just ran.

That sign they passed by helped her immensely. She ran around the corners where buildings no longer stood and jumped over the rubble. Her goal was close. She had no idea how much time had passed when she finally saw it in the distance. Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it might burst out of her chest. _The museum_. The white building in the distance was charred by smoke and half-collapsed, but it was still there. The woman felt sadness for all the people who died in her city and also a different kind of sadness when she realized that a lot of their culture died with them.

She stepped over the rubble again and entered the museum. Faint light was illuminating the insides by passing through the holes in the walls. Something moved next to her and she saw tracks in the dust left by a few rats. With a sigh of relief, she ventured deeper into the museum, carefully observing her surroundings, hoping nothing would collapse on her.

Most of the things were broken. The glass cases laid in pieces. Parts of ancient artefacts were scattered everywhere. She saw a few armours disassembled all over the hallways. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the first sword, but upon inspection, she found it broken. In a hurry, she moved on. The sword she was looking for was close. She saw it many times with her father. He loved telling her its story and she loved hearing it again and again.

In the silence of the ruins, the woman finally approached the room where the sword stood. She carefully stepped inside. The glass cases were destroyed here as well and the woman hurried towards the centre. Breathing heavily, she jumped into the rubble, not minding the glass while she dug. She pushed and pulled and threw around. Her body was covered in dust. Her arms hurt almost too much to move, yet she carried on anyway. When she moved the last piece of the rubble, hoping to see the magnificent blade of her ancestor, she saw nothing.

 _The sword was not there_.

The woman took a deep breath, her eyes wide open. She almost laughed hysterically, staring at the dirty floor covered with pieces of the glass case. Then she saw a little plaque with an inscription, proving to her that she came to the right place. And yet, the sword was not there.

"You _have_ to be kidding me!" she yelled in frustration, her voice echoing through the ruined structure.

She risked so much for this. Where was it? Who took it? The woman looked up into the collapsed ceiling and saw the sunny day. An overwhelming feeling of helplessness drowned her and she dropped to her knees. As if things couldn’t get any worse, she heard movement behind her. Lazily, she looked and saw darkness. She didn't even have the strength to be afraid anymore.

"It's not here," she said simply while Aku was transforming from a small rat-like creature into a giant. "We're both losers today."

"Be silent, you insolent wretch!" yelled at her.

There was anger in his voice and in his gaze. He personally inspected the remains of the room, but found nothing either. The woman was glad. Maybe she was a loser, but at least Aku will not get the sword either. _He was following me. I am so stupid._ She decided to keep fighting until her final breath. Even when the demon grabbed her in his rage, she did not cry or scream anymore. There was still a chance that the sword was with someone who knew it could harm Aku. There was a still a chance that he could be defeated. _And I will not give up, no matter what he does to me,_ she thought as he carried her back to her cage.


	4. The Emperor's Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When the evil shape-shifting wizard, Aku, arose from the bowels of hate to ravage our homeland, there was a young emperor who, despite doing all he could to protect his people, was helpless against the demon’s powers."

Summer began on a hot day that year, with the sun shining brightly, announcing even hotter days to come. Two teenagers made their way to their destination : a white-coloured building which they simply called “the museum”.

One of them, a long-haired girl in a white shirt and light blue skirt, was leading the other, a short-haired person wearing a red shirt and black cropped trousers, through the museum and the crowd of visitors braving the heat.

Her mother would often take her to the museum on her birthday ; however, this year she sadly couldn’t be there. So the teenage girl had decided to go with her best friend instead. Said friend stopped to observe the armours, then their comrade told them to follow her to another room, as she had something to show them.

A few minutes later, both teenagers stopped walking once again. In front of them was a glass case ; above it were ancient paintings depicting a legend concerning what laid inside : a samurai sword which was said to have belonged to an emperor long ago. The red-clad individual seemed fascinated by this centuries old blade which still looked brand new.

 “I know its story by heart”, their friend said.

 “Oh? Can you tell it to me then?” they asked.

The girl cleared her throat and told them the emperor’s tale without any hesitation :

 “ _When the evil shape-shifting wizard, Aku, arose from the bowels of hate to ravage our homeland, there was a young emperor who, despite doing all he could to protect his people, was helpless against the demon’s powers._

_But he remembered his grandfather's grandfather's story of three monks who were gifted with mystical powers… so he rode to the highest peak of the mountainside, where the monks agreed to forge him an enchanted sword with great magic, the only weapon that could harm the monster who was ravaging his land._

_Armed with the sword and the hope of his people, the emperor plunged into battle against Aku. His evil was no match for the power of righteousness._

_And with the sword's magic, Aku's demon forces were implanted into the earth, forever petrifying him into the wasteland that he created._

_Through years of hard work, the people rebuilt their glorious city with hopes never to encounter such an evil as Aku again._

_The tale was passed on from generation to generation to remind all to always be alert, for the presence of evil is sometimes right behind us._ ”

 “That’s the full story?”

She nodded. If there was a longer version of the tale, she hadn’t heard of it. She had simply recited the narrative her mother told her word for word. She couldn’t help but smile at the memory of her younger self always asking to be told the story of Aku, the emperor and the sword again.

 “I guess this weird akuma -” her friend started, pointing at the dark figure in the paintings before being interrupted.

 “His name’s Aku.”

 “The name is a bit… obvious”, they commented.

 “Hey, I didn’t write the story!”

The two friends observed the blade and the paintings in silence for a while before the girl in white and blue spoke again :

 “You know, they say the Dark Tree is where he is imprisoned.”

 “Isn’t that where your mother and her team are right now?”

Once their comrade had confirmed briefly, the teenager in the red shirt asked :

 “Where have you heard this tale by the way?”

 “My mother told it to me”, the girl replied. “It was my favourite bedtime story. And it has been passed on in my family since… well, since it was written I think. My grandfather even said that the emperor from the tale was our ancestor and we were descendants of his grandson’s illegitimate child or something like that…”

 “You never told me that”, her friend pointed out. “We’ve known each other since forever and I never knew you had an _emperor’s_ blood in your veins?”

 “You remember how my grandfather was? He used to say _lots_ of things. And… you know, he really believed all of them and stuff but about half of his stories weren’t true.”

She didn’t need any more words to get her point across.

The teenagers moved on to other parts of the museum. Many of the things in it were there thanks the girl’s mother and her team, and not all of them were exposed to the visitors’ eyes. After a while, they left the building for the hot tarmac of the city street. And instantly noticed something was off. Indeed, all the pedestrians had stopped walking and were staring at something up in the sky ; the two friends followed their gaze. Was that a new building?

No. It wasn’t. At first they couldn’t see the giant’s face properly, as the sun was in their eyes. And then, the monster produced laser beams powerful enough to sear the tallest buildings in two. The people in the streets were too shocked to react yet. When this gigantic creature moved, the city’s inhabitants finally started screaming and running as far away as they could.

Except for the archaeologist’s daughter whose jaw dropped even lower than it already was when she finally could take a look at the giant’s face. _No. It couldn’t be. She had just told this story to her friend! It was only a story!_

Said friend grabbed her arm and ran, and she ran away with them. The earth shook as the demon crushed all the tall buildings and levelled them with the ground. The girl broke free from her friend’s grasp to take their hand instead. Together, they hid underground in the metro, hoping to escape this creature of legends. Other people were there and more kept coming in an attempt to elude the demon who was ravaging the city with only one hand. An eternity seemed to pass and he was still out there, destroying buildings and killing the people who didn’t run fast enough.

 “Mako?” the archaeologist’s daughter whispered to avoid being heard by anyone other than her friend.

 “Yeah?” they replied in the same tone.

 “We need to go back to the museum.”

 “What?”

 “Didn’t you see?” she asked. “ _It was Aku_. If the story was true about him, it might be true about the sword, too. We have to try!”

 “You’re crazy. Let’s g-”

Before Mako could finish their sentence, a black mass of pure evil entered the metro to kill everyone in its path ; they and their friend didn’t waste any more time and, along with the other humans around them, fled to the nearest exit not occupied by Aku’s body. However, once the two teenagers were outside again, they set out to a different direction : the museum. With all the chaos around them, no-one would notice two young people stealing a samurai sword.


	5. The Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They both took a look at the ceiling : another part of it was about to collapse on them.

Parts of the museum had already collapsed and others were about to. The teenagers’ footsteps were the only sounds.

Without warning, Mako stopped in front of the armours they saw earlier, before the attack. Noticing their footsteps weren’t following her anymore, their friend stopped walking and turned around to see them detach a helmet and mask from one of the samurai armours exposed there. It was easy, as the glass case which used to protect it had been broken, leaving shards everywhere on the floor.

 “What are you doing?” the girl asked. “We’re here for the sword, not for -”

 “You’re gonna need protection”, the person in the red shirt pointed out.

 “We can’t transport a full armour!”

The archaeologist’s daughter had barely finished her sentence when a piece of the ceiling fell only a few metres away from her, making her jump in surprise.

 “…And we don’t have enough time”, she added as soon as the shock had passed.

She rushed to where the sword was and Mako followed her, holding firmly the kabuto in their hands. The youngsters found the glass case protecting the ancient blade miraculously intact. They looked at each other and nodded briefly before the girl picked up a piece of what used to be a wall and threw it against the glass case. As she approached her goal and reached out for the weapon, slowly, carefully, a loud noise made itself heard above her. Neither she nor her comrade liked this one bit. They both took a look at the ceiling : another part of it was about to collapse on them.

As quickly as she could, she grabbed the sword and its sheath and moved out of the way before being crushed under the rubble of the museum.

Once the teenagers were back outside, they finally took the time to realise how much their city had changed in the past few hours.

The tallest buildings were all gone. Destroyed helicopters were lying on the ground here and there, proof that humanity had tried and failed to defend itself. Rubble of diverse buildings was everywhere on the streets, on smaller buildings they destroyed in their fall, on cars that would never work again and people who wouldn’t breathe anymore. Several parts of the city were still on fire, creating smoke which rose high in the sky.

And a few hours ago, the girl in the white shirt thought not having her mother be there for her birthday was bad enough… _Her mother_. What had happened to her? And all the other people who were around the Dark Tree on that first day of summer? Were they still alive or did Aku kill them all?

The archaeologist’s daughter was clutching the hilt of the sword so tight her hand was trembling.

 “I’m gonna find this demon and kill him”, she stated coldly.

But Mako knew her well : the colder their friend appeared on the outside, the hotter her rage was burning on the inside.

 “Not now”, they said. “I’ve fought you : I know you can take down any human, but… this isn’t like anything we’re used to. Magic sword or not, you could get killed!”

 “You, you have an idea”, she guessed, sheathing the ancient katana but keeping it in her hands since she had no belt to hold it.

 “We’re gonna hide somewhere and train and then strike when Aku least expects it. We still have a high chance of getting killed but it’s still better than going in without a plan. Plus you’ve never used a sword before…”

 “I can figure it out. Where are we going?”

***

Mako’s grandparents’ house outside of the city seemed a much safer place than the ruins for the time being. It was the middle of the night when they and their friend, carrying the huge backpack found in a destroyed store on the way there, reached the house. They hesitated a minute or two before knocking at this hour. The answer from inside, however, arrived right away ; Mako’s grandparents weren’t sleeping after all. Their grandfather opened the door and let them and their friend enter. He and his wife, after seeing a gigantic demon destroy the city their grandchild lived in on the news, were too worried for their family to sleep. Now, they were relieved to see at least part of it had survived.

The teenagers now had a place to rest and charge their cellphones for the remaining of the night. In the morning, they could try to call their parents in case they were still alive. The elderly couple gave their grandchild and their friend two mattresses and quilts so they could rest in the living room.

 “Not a word about the sword”, the girl whispered to Mako once they were finally alone in the room. “If the sword really works, Aku will be looking for it…”

 “…so the fewer know where it is, the better”, her comrade finished. “I was about to say the same thing.”

***

The teenage girl dreamed of war. A monster set fire to the world and she was in the middle of it all, standing, unable to move. Then she opened her eyes and saw her best friend lying in their own mattress beside hers. It felt like she had only fallen asleep seconds ago, however the sunrays that were invading the inside of the room through the windows clearly showed it had been at least a few hours. Mako’s breathing was the only sound ; everything else was so quiet, the golden light entering the room was so beautiful, she couldn’t believe any of this were real. How could this possibly belong to the same reality than all the chaos and destruction of the previous day?

She sat up, grabbed the backpack next to her mattress and opened it. The sword and the helmet were still there, proof that the previous day did happen. Then, she turned to her sleeping friend and shook them gently to wake them up, which, as always, proved to be rather efficient on them.

 “What?” they asked, yawning.

 “We should try the sword before your grandparents wake up”, she murmured.

Mako, suddenly remembering how they got in this house, was now fully awake. They guided their friend in the garden, where she would have enough room to swing the sword. Meanwhile, they would make sure their grandparents, when they woke up, would remain distracted and wouldn’t see a thing.

The girl unwrapped the dark piece of fabric she had wrapped around the katana (despite the big size of the bag, the hilt of the blade stuck out of it and therefore needed to be hidden), and unsheathed it. She left the sheath in the backpack on the ground and held the hilt firmly in both her hands. The sword wasn’t hers, and yet she already felt like it had always been.

She swung it in the air, trying to understand how it worked and which positions of her hands felt the most comfortable. She and Mako were both the best students in their jūjutsu class ; however neither of them had ever used a weapon. _Ok, you got this_ , she thought. Taking a nearby cherry tree as target, she swung her blade one more time and…

…Accidentally cut it down. The tree was quite young, yet the girl still didn’t expect it to be cut _that_ easily.

 “Wow”, Mako commented. “Still sharp!”

 “…Your grandparents are gonna kill me”, the archaeologist’s daughter whispered, frozen in place.

 “Not while I’m here. Beside, they don’t need to know how it happened…”

She hid the sword in the backpack again, went back into the house and checked her cellphone. It was now fully charged ; time to call everyone she knew.

The first person she called was her mother. The phone didn’t even ring and linked her directly to the answering machine. Even if the archaeologist wasn’t already dead, her battery was. Same with her father. In the meantime, Mako was using their grandparents’ phone, as they had forgotten their charger at home. Their parents didn’t respond either.

Both teenagers would have preferred bad news to the absence of news…


	6. Exile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The last thing their leaders did was issue an order for evacuation."

Their longing for news, any news, came to an end very soon and when it did, they weren't as glad as they thought they would be. Mako left their friend alone for a while; after all, she was still not sure what happened to her family. The archaeologist's daughter not only thought she had lost her family, but she was also responsible for the ancient sword and the battle against the creature which destroyed her city. She needed some time to gather her senses. She decided to start keeping a journal and asked her friend for a pen and paper. Mako brought her a practical little notebook. The girl figured out writing down what was happening might come in handy later.

After taking a shower, she stared at her long hair and sadly concluded that taking care of it during battles and who knows what else could be problematic. With a few swift cuts, she shortened her mane. Her new reflection looked like a stranger.

"Hey, you should come see this," she heard her friend's voice.

As she left the bathroom, she saw Mako's look of surprise, but they said nothing. The girl returned the scissors to her friend and they both went into the living room.

"What happened?" the girl asked as she saw the terrified looks on Mako's grandparents’ faces.

She shifted her gaze towards the television. A distressed news reporter was barely speaking the words with the images of destruction behind her. It took the archaeologist's daughter a few moments to realize what the news reporter said. The entire government was dead. The emperor was dead. _Murdered_. The last thing their leaders did was issue an order for evacuation. In the final footage, they could see a large dark entity sliding through the city victoriously.

"The evacuation has already started," Mako's grandfather said. "We will give you supplies and you two will leave with the ships."

"What about you?" Mako asked, worried.

Their grandparents just smiled faintly. Mako and their friend didn't see any reason to smile.

"We are staying. There is no reason for us to take the place of others who might need it," the grandfather said. "Do not worry for us. We stayed before when the world was ending. We will stay again."

The remaining time with Mako's grandparents was a haze for the girl without a family. She remembered when Mako's grandmother packed food and water and spare clothing for them, when the two friends hugged the old couple and joined the stream of people in the streets. Where were they going? The girl saw a miserable and terrified endless group of humans who knew nothing about what was happening. She wanted to tell them and explain, yet in the end she said nothing. She was just grasping for Mako's hand tightly, happy that at least her friend was there with her. What about her parents? Were they alive? The girl felt anger boiling inside of her and she squeezed Mako's hand, swearing to end the demon that ended her life.

The camp in the harbour had been made in haste. It was crowded and people were hurrying to board the ships and get out of the country. Mako and their friend heard from a few people that the ships were headed for South Korea. They exchanged looks while standing in one of the lines, waiting to be allowed to board the ship.

"That's not far away enough," the girl said.

"It’ll have to do for now," Mako replied. "I know what you want. I saw how you're watching every TV screen, looking for the sight of the demon."

"He is destroying everything and I have the means to destroy _him_!" the girl told her friend, a bit more aggressively than intended.

"We don't know that yet! You said it yourself. Your grandfather told a lot of strange stories," Mako said, trying to calm their friend. "I have to say that the sword is impressive, but the whole story could still be a lie."

"My grandfather didn't lie," the girl said simply. "His reality was just different from ours."

"I'm sorry," Mako apologized. "I didn't mean to say it like that. All I want to say is that you can't attack this monster based on a story about the sword."

"The story was true so far," the girl said with a shrug and began staring at the distance.

Mako was right, she knew that. The sword was sharp and amazing, but that still didn't mean it could _harm_ Aku. That had yet to be tested. And she couldn't just attack the demon without any practice and with so much anger boiling inside of her. She would surely fail. She turned back to her friend and hugged them.

A few minutes later, their line was finally open and they could move towards the ship. They were holding hands, because the crowd began getting worse. Both Mako and the girl understood the fears of the people around them ; however they really wished people would calm down. The front of the line moved slowly while the others were pushing from the back. The archaeologist's daughter put her backpack in front in order to keep an eye on the sword. Its hilt was sticking out of the bag, wrapped in the black piece of cloth ; she feared someone might snatch it or that it would fall off.

While she fumbled with the backpack, she felt Mako's hand leaving hers. She looked to the left and saw her friend huff in annoyance at the crowd that was pushing them around. The girl positioned her bag and hugged it tightly and then looked to the left again, to grab Mako. But they weren't there. She stopped abruptly, but was pushed and forced to walk. Some people were yelling for others to hurry. The girl was hugging her bag and looking around while she walked.

"Mako?" she yelled. A few people turned their heads. "Mako?!"

Nothing. The crowd pushed harder and she was close to the entrance into the ship where the whole line was the slowest in order to prevent people from falling into the water. At the first occasion when she could stop, the girl looked around again, searching for her friend. They had to stay together. _I can't do this without Mako. I can't do this alone._ She looked and looked and yelled, but it appeared as if her friend disappeared somewhere in the crowd. Someone pushed her and she stepped forward, getting into the ship slowly. Still turning in fear, she finally found herself aboard the vessel.

During the travel, the girl barely slept. She wandered the ship in search of her friend. She was asking about them, showing a picture on her cellphone. She tried calling them, then remembered their battery was dead and their phone charger lost. The girl found herself sitting in corners, her arms wrapped around her legs and her bag, listening to every step and hoping to see Mako each time she turned her head. Instead, she arrived to the new land alone.

She was too tired and too sad to ask for details. The ship arrived to the shore on a misty morning. There was an already prepared camp at the harbour and the girl just followed the crowd. They were all placed under large tents filled with make-shift beds. She just listened to people talking, babies crying and children asking questions. She sat on one of the beds and hoped that Mako just got onto another ship. They will be together again soon. The ships were still coming; once they all arrive, she would go look for her friend in other tents. And then…

She didn't know. She grabbed the hilt of the sword underneath the black cloth and felt safer. When asked about it by officials, she passed it off as family heirloom. But in order to use it properly, she would have to train. Where? For how long? How much destruction would Aku create before she could be ready? She shook her head and decided to be patient. Mako would be patient.

After a short walk around the refugee camp, the girl didn't find her lost friend. Instead, she joined dozens of people huddled around a Wi-Fi hotspot, using their phones and other devices. This meant she could still contact her older brother. For once, she was insanely glad he was studying abroad. Their parents might be gone, but at least he was not in the country when it happened. Logging into Skype took a while and she nervously patted her foot on the ground. When it finally logged her in, she felt relief for the first time in the last few days; her brother was online. Before she could do anything, he contacted her via video call. Upon seeing the face of her brother, the girl's heart leapt to her throat from happiness.

"The internet is lagging so I'll be quick," the girl spoke first. "I'm safe, we're in South Korea. But I don't know about mom and dad."

_"I was freaking out here! Is it real? Is it really… him?"_

"It is," she said. "I will let you know if I find out anything about mom and dad."

 _"Okay. Oh, by the way, happy birthday. I was supposed to say it in person. Now I know why I couldn't,"_ her brother told her and she wondered what he meant. _"Mom planned to send you over to me as a birthday present. 'Guess that's cancelled now."_

The girl never hated Aku as much as she did in that moment. The internet started lagging though ; she had to hurry.

"Thanks," she said quickly and then lowered her voice. "I have the sword."

 _"You think the tale is tr-…"_ her brother began in surprise, but then she was logged out.

She tried to log in again a few more times. Unfortunately, there were simply too many people using the Wi-Fi so she gave up for the day.


	7. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She would have to explore this new land to find better training grounds. There wasn’t much else she could do for now."

It was the middle of the night and there was still no sign of Mako in the refugee camp. Unable to sleep, the teenage girl was sitting on one of the makeshift beds, clutching her bag. All she had left from her homeland was in there, and none of it actually belonged to her.

Back when the story of Aku and the emperor was still a fairytale, one of her favourite games was to pretend she was battling the shape-shifting demon wizard. But could she do it for real? Could she be the heroine she dreamt to become as a child? She moved her right hand to the hilt of the sword and took a deep breath. Someone had to do it. If she didn’t at least try, she would never be able to forgive herself.

Slowly, without a sound, the girl stood up, put the bag on her back and tiptoed her way out of the camp, careful not to wake anyone up. She walked along the shore until neither the camp nor the closest city were visible in the distance then put the backpack down on the wet sand. She rummaged through the bag for a second before getting her hands on two things : an old belt Mako had packed in there (it must have belonged to their grandfather) and the samurai helmet they had stolen from the museum along with the sacred blade.

Firstly, she adjusted the belt around her hips, took the black cloth off the sword and secured the weapon on her left side, between the belt and her body. Secondly, after staring at the ancient piece of armour for a while, she decided she might as well use it ; her friend would have told her they didn’t steal it for nothing. The kabuto felt quite heavy on her head and the metal mask would probably get a bit uncomfortable during the hot days of the still young summer but she would have to get used to it. As she tied the chin cord under the mask, she couldn’t help but think she most likely looked absolutely ridiculous with the headwear and sword of an ancient warrior and the skirt of a modern day schoolgirl ; this was a problem she would have to deal with later. For now, she had other things to do.

She unsheathed the sword and slashed the air around her, cutting imaginary shape-shifters to pieces. She had been taught to defend herself with her bare hands, but this was different. Now, her role was to attack and destroy evil. _Breathe. You’ve seen it in movies thousands of times, you can do it. Listen to your body. Let the sword become an extension of it._

The teenager trained alone with the sacred blade until the first sunrays of a new day appeared in the sky ; then she put her warrior attire back in the bag and returned to the camp as an anonymous refugee.

She would have to explore this new land to find better training grounds. There wasn’t much else she could do for now.

***

The last ship from Japan had arrived and Mako was still nowhere to be seen. It was time for their friend to face the truth : she was alone and it wouldn’t change any time soon.

As she was writing in her notebook, she received an e-mail from her brother who wanted to check on her and inform her of the world’s news. According to what he had heard, people in the West were ready to send help to the Japanese refugees ; however, no-one knew what to do about the cause of their exile yet. This wasn’t really surprising, as Aku was unlike anything the world was used to. At least not outside of movies.

The archaeologist’s son concluded his message by “ _be careful…_ ” and his sister simply replied : “ _someone has to do it._ ”

A few hours later, she decided to start exploring the land around the camp a bit more. She needed a better training ground.

Each night, as the camp went silent, the girl would sneak out of it. She made her new home close to the back exit of the camp where only a few people surrounded her. There was a family too preoccupied with hope of finding their lost relatives to pay attention to the lonely girl in the corner. There were a few children, usually quiet and focused on their last toys. There was also an old woman who always seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Mako should have been there as well…

The girl found many places where she could train. A few times, she returned to the beach where she trained for the first time, but one day when she arrived, there were some people there; teenagers smoking and drinking in secret. The girl wished she could be so carefree. Instead, she turned around and found an abandoned building. Her yells echoed through the building and were followed with the sound of sword cutting through the air. She found old furniture in the area. The sword sliced them in half. She tried it on old abandoned cars. The sword pierced through. One day she felt brave enough to try it against concrete. The sword made a slash so precise it was almost invisible.

In order not to arouse suspicion, she changed her training grounds often. After the building, she found a silent alley. She tried many different moves under the night sky, learning how to unsheathe, slice and sheathe back in one swift motion. Movement was also important; it didn't take her long to learn how to move, roll and jump with the sword in her hands. The helmet was problematic at first, but she learned to move with it nonetheless. Often, in her pauses, she would observe the mask that came with the helmet. Its design was simpler than the others that were exposed in the museum, but it was still beautifully crafted nonetheless. It hid her real face and replaced it with a visage almost like the one of a robot. With it, she was anonymous. No one in particular.

After the alley, she found another building. She returned to the beach when it was empty. Sometimes, she would just run and slash anything in her sight, learning how to flee and fight in case she would ever have to. When she had the opportunity, she made a blindfold, kicked stones into the air and attempted to slash them. It didn't go as she planned though. Upon removing the blindfold, she would find the stones all on the ground, intact. For days, she thought about it, wondering. One night, she was on the beach, listening to the waves and the distant sounds of the city. How was she supposed to hear a stone falling and hit it? And then she understood. She was not supposed to hear it. She was supposed to _feel_ it. With a blindfold, she tossed the stone, calmed herself and swung. There was a _cling_. The girl removed the blindfold, looked around and found the stone severed in half.

It didn't always work, but she got better each day. She began doing more meditations prior to training. It helped her focus and keep her calm. _Mako would be calm._ She dedicated each successful hit to her friend. After each failure, she imagined Mako giving her a pat on the back and telling her she would do better next time. One day, her failure was too great though and some people noticed her while she was practising stabbing. The poor trashcan was almost completely obliterated when someone called behind her. The girl turned and saw people in the distance, clearly disturbed by the sounds she was making. She ran away, backtracked across the alleys back to the refugee camp, hoping she lost her pursuers.

As she sneaked back into the camp, breathing heavily and sweating while covering the sword and the helmet up with a cloth, she heard coughing. Startled, she froze before reaching her bed. When she turned her head, she saw the old woman awake, looking at her.

"Sneaking out, are we, young lady?" the woman said with almost a whisper. She smiled. "I won't tell anyone, don't you worry."

"Thank you," the girl replied with relief.

She placed the bag with the sword close by and sat on her bed. It was late and she wanted to get some rest.

"A strange thing, that sword," the old woman said with a sigh and the girl froze again. "It serves you well."

"You… What do you know about the sword? Who are you?" the girl asked, slightly afraid. What if Aku's agents found her?

"I know that the sword serves ones of pure heart," the old woman replied. "But you must not rely solely on it : it is only a tool."

"Excuse me?"

The girl really wished this woman told her who she was. Did she know about the legend? About Aku? About _everything?_

"The sword will not save the world. _You_ will," the woman said. "Remember that."

"But who are you?"

"I am just an old lady who found out there is still hope for this world," she replied and sprouted a warm smile. "Rest now, child. Difficult days lie ahead."

The girl couldn't tell what happened next. She only knew that she fell asleep and woke up in the morning with hazy memories of that conversation. The old woman was nowhere to be found. Was it all just a dream? Dream or not, the girl realized that it was useful. She focused more on her own power rather than trusting the sword to do all her work. In the next few weeks, she improved all of her skills. The sword became a part of her and she became its fuel. The more she trained, the more connected she felt with it. With each new slash, the sword and the girl were more in tune. She started feeling the targets around her before she saw them or heard them.

During all this time, however, she knew that her true test has not yet come. It was easy to stab abandoned cars, slice flying rocks and evade imaginary enemies. But could she fight Aku? She will not know until she tries. Time was running out. She could spend more months, years, _decades_  training and perfecting her skills, that much was clear. Only her people didn't have decades. Her family, if alive, didn't have decades. Mako doesn't have decades, wherever they are.

It would soon be time to return and reclaim her homeland from the demon that took it away. Gripping her sword after one more training session, looking at the rising sun on the eastern horizon, she knew what she must do.

_I will save the world._


	8. Aku's Empire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He would find it eventually. It was only a matter of time. Time he intended to use to become more powerful than ever and assert his domination over this world."

_A young human fell to her knees, clutching her belly as if it could be enough to stop the blood escaping from her wound. It spread all over her white shirt and her hands. She was breathing heavily and struggling to stand up._

_When she finally managed to get back on her feet and take a step forward, she stumbled again and ended up on all fours. And yet, she continued on, crawling towards the exit door._

Aku opened his eyes and found himself in the room his slaves built him recently. What did this vision mean? He didn’t even know this mortal…

He would have to figure it out later ; he had an empire to build. The sun was rising, yet the slaves who were finishing up the tower had already been working for hours. With the humans’ technology and constant (or nearly so) work under the threat of the minions’ whips, the construction was advancing at a rate that impressed even the Shogun of Sorrow himself. However, it was only one building, albeit the most important one. The whole city needed to be rebuilt in his image. And other cities as well. If nothing stood in his way, sooner or later every single city on the face of the Earth would become monuments to Aku’s glory.

But as long as the sword escaped him, there was still a chance that someone could step forth to oppose him.

As he left the room, Aku noticed someone had placed one of these sticky yellow papers on the wall outside his door. Again. The new master of Japan didn’t even need to read what was written on it to know what it was about. Ever since he had given one of his human servants their rightful punishment for failing him, the others would leave him notes rather than report directly to him. And all the notes, even though the handwriting and wording varied each time, carried the same message : the lost blade was nowhere to be found. He was starting to wonder if it still was in the country at all. But he would find it eventually. It was only a matter of time. Time he intended to use to become more powerful than ever and assert his domination over this world.

As Aku entered his throne room, two of the humans at his service approached him. The younger of the two was carrying some flat rectangular object. _Oh, now they’re brave enough to come see me uninvited?_

 “Great lord Aku, may we -” the older of the two, a middle-aged man, began as the demon sat on his throne.

 “What are you bringing to Aku that could possibly be worth his time?” the Shogun of Sorrow interrupted.

 “Something that could help you understand this world better”, the teenager replied.

Aku couldn’t tell whether this human was male or female ; he decided he didn’t care anyway.

 “An easy access to humanity’s knowledge”, the adult continued. “And as they say, knowing is half the battle…”

The young human opened the rectangular object and pressed a button, which made it light up. Once it was ready, they handed it to their master, who was towering them from his seat.

 “However”,the middle-aged man explained, “to be… hum… used to its full potential, the wi-fi hotspots need to be repaired… without them, this machine is… quite limited. And most of those spots were destroyed. But repairing those was my former job, so I -”

 “Then find whatever resources you need and repair those right away”, Aku commanded while taking the device between two of his fingers to examine it more closely.

The two humans nodded and left without any more words, leaving the ageless demon alone to figure out how the device worked. He reduced his size to be able to use it more comfortably then stared at it for a while. If lowly mortals could make and use these, it couldn’t be that complicated to figure out.

Someone else was approaching the throne room : he would have to examine the device later. He closed it before growing back to a more impressive size which filled his throne better. One of his minions that he had summoned shortly after his first day of freedom entered. But weren’t there footsteps of several people?

It turned out the creature was there to inform the Master of Masters that the leaders of the other nations wished to speak to him. They therefore had sent a few spokespeople in their stead. Aku ordered his minion to let the guests in.

These eight mortals were visibly doing their best not to tremble before the Deliverer of Darkness but they weren’t very good at it. This behaviour was to be expected from humans entering the new tower for the first time, especially those who used the main entrance.

 “Speak, mortals”, Aku told them, seeing that none of them dared to speak first.

The guests looked at each other silently, wondering which one of them would open their mouth first, before the bravest of the lot took one more step towards the throne and bowed respectfully.

 “We apologise we couldn’t give you notice of our visit earlier, oh great lord Aku”, he said. “We didn’t have any phone number or other means to contact you right away.”

His words sounded almost mechanical ; he most likely had rehearse them in his head before arriving.

 “The nations that we represent simply wish to know what is actually going on here, my lord”, the human continued.

Aku’s fingers were taping the armrest of his throne as he listened.

 “I am building my empire ; this is what is going on”, he stated. “You can tell everyone in every nation of this world that they will bow to the mighty Aku or suffer his wrath.”

The eight mortals all took a step back and gasped as one. The Deliverer of Darkness chuckled briefly, satisfied of this reaction.

 “And if any of you mortals is foolish enough to attempt to resist” he continued, “you should know that nothing of this world can harm me. The people of this land learned this the hard way.”

Silence followed. They certainly didn’t need to know there actually was _one_ thing that could harm him.

Then, another of the eight foreigners asked with an accent Aku had never heard before :

 “May I ask one more thing, my lord? About, hum… I mean… Why is there a woman attached the wall outside? We saw her above the door when we arrived…”

 “This foolish woman tried to oppose Aku and he gave her her rightful punishment for this.”

The foreigners didn’t dare to ask any more questions.


	9. Gotta Get Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How long before his evil reached the land she had fled to? How long before the demon became too powerful to be overthrown?"

The teenage girl hadn’t seen her homeland or managed to contact her parents or Mako in about four months.

After all these weeks spent training, the sacred blade was now like a part of her. But was she actually ready? Her brother told her via e-mail Aku’s intention to conquer the world was all over the news ; how long before his evil reached the land she had fled to? How long before the demon became too powerful to be overthrown?

The camp hadn’t received any donated supplies in a while now. Rumours said Aku had destroyed the last aid convoy. The girl wouldn’t have been surprised if it were true. None of the refugee would escape the demon forever. _But he won’t escape **me** forever either…_

As the sun rose on the refugee camp, screams of joy were heard. People pointed at the sea and told everyone around them about the Red Cross ship that was approaching. Not all aid convoys were destroyed, after all! And this one arrived just on time : the refugees’ supplies were getting dangerously low without help coming from the sea. The lonely girl approached the shore in order to see the ship arrive with everyone else. She clung to the straps of her backpack that she had kept close to her at all times in the past months. She didn’t even feel its weight anymore.

As the vessel got closer to the shore, the girl noticed that the crew didn’t look like they belonged to the Red Cross. The crowd seemed to notice as well : everyone was now silent. Some even stepped back at the sight of the red and black uniforms and the varied firearms in these people’s hands. They certainly weren’t there to help the refugees. Children started crying as the soldiers stepped on the shore and pointed their weapons at the crowd while instructing them to remain calm.

The archaeologist’s daughter observed them from afar, lost in the crowd gathered on the beach ; these soldiers weren’t much different from the refugees. Some were about her age, others seemed about as old as her parents. _He has recruited all these humans… I bet most of them have never held a weapon before ; they look just as nervous as we are._ The soldiers moved to let the one who seemed to be their leader stand ahead of them. Even though this creature looked humanoid, the teenager felt in her guts it wasn’t human.

Its uniform was similar to the human troops’ with the exception that it covered everything but the eyes while the other soldiers’ faces were exposed, and it was holding a long whip rather than a gun.

 “Lord Aku needs more workers to build his domain”, it said once a soldier had given it a megaphone that carried its deep voice to every person present. “Get on the ship with us if you don’t want to get hurt.”

The girl reached for the sword hidden behind her back but then stopped ; starting a fight now would be the best way to get other people around here killed by random shots. Beside, it might be her only chance to get back to her homeland, where Aku was, without being noticed. Maybe Mako was waiting for her?

Either way, ready or not, she didn’t have much of a choice. She did her best to blend in with the crowd and avoid the creature’s gaze as she got on board. Avoiding being noticed got easier over the next few days, as the ship went to several other places and people from other countries nearby were forced to join in. It was only when the vessel couldn’t possibly contain more people that it finally headed back to Japan. The teenager couldn’t really do anything but wait, lay low and hope no-one, human or not, would pay attention to her bag and the shape which was sticking out of it.

***

At last, the ship stolen from the Red Cross reached the very same port where Mako and their friend were accidentally separated. For some reason, disembarking the passengers was taking forever, and from where she was, behind a crowd of taller people, the owner of the sword couldn’t see the reason behind this.

 “We’ve been instructed to search everyone individually, so…” the young soldier next to her replied when she asked him about it.

_Oh. Not good._

The teenage girl looked all around her to find a possible escape route but the only way to leave the ship lead to her and her precious backpack being searched by Aku’s little soldiers. Unless…

She waited until there was a bit more room to move behind her, and then walked to the other side of the deck. However, the young soldier she talked to earlier noticed this and followed her until they both arrived near the guardrail.

 “What are you doing?” he asked. “You’re supposed to go the other way.”

She took her backpack off her shoulders and turned around to face him ; he must have seen the determination in her eyes, for he took a step back and reached for his weapon.

 “I’m sorry”, she said simply.

Before he could understand what was going on, he was lying on his side, his gun in her hand. The girl had never been more glad that, unlike her mother and brother, she had taken an interest in martial arts rather than in archaeology. Not letting the young man the time to stand up again, she threw the gun away, secured the bag and the sword in one arm and jumped overboard.

She swam for what felt like hours but most likely was much shorter. Keeping her bag with her and avoiding drowning were distracting enough to make her lose track of time ; the possibility that she could be pursued didn’t help either. Her lungs felt as though they were on fire, yet it wasn’t until the ship had disappeared from sight for several minutes that she finally allowed herself to get to the deserted shore and catch her breath. Sitting on the ground, she looked all around her but didn’t see anyone. She guessed whoever was still living there was too busy building Aku’s domain under the threat of whip lashes or other punishment to take a walk next to the sea. Which allowed her to take this opportunity to dry herself, the sword and the kabuto. The clothes in her bag would have to wait.

Actually, she couldn’t afford to wait much longer. Regretfully, she decided that leaving the backpack here, near the water, could fool whoever was looking for her into thinking she might be lost forever and her bag might have drifted away. Maybe. After looking back at the bag one last time, the teenager, securing the sword between her belt and her side and holding the helmet in her hands, went further into the city which was still mostly in ruins. Apparently rebuilding people’s homes wasn’t Aku’s priority.

She took cover between two partially collapsed buildings to put the kabuto and mask on. She barely had the time to secure the still damp metal mask on her face before she heard footsteps behind her ; as she turned around she saw two people in these red and black uniforms approaching her. She didn’t recognise them, therefore these two weren’t from the ship. This information wouldn’t help her explain either the sword or her headgear to Aku’s human servants though.

 “Who are you?” the taller of the two asked the teenage girl.

 “…I’m nobody” was the first answer that came to her mind.

 “You’re not allowed to carry a weapon, only us Aku’s Forces are”, the shorter one explained. “Give us the sword and follow us or we’ll have to shoot.”

 “I can’t do that”, the masked girl replied while putting her right hand on the hilt of her katana.

Her enemies drew their guns and pointed them at her ; in one swift motion of her blade, she cut the barrel of the one closest to her, leaving only one half of a revolver in his hand. While they were still frozen in place by pure astonishment, she did the same to the other gun and pushed the two members of Aku’s Forces away so she could flee and seek refuge before finally paying the demon himself a visit.

She had trained herself the last four months to fight against Aku and whatever other monster he could throw at her, not to cut humans to pieces with the ancient blade.

Even if they worked for him.


	10. The Girl Called Nobody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "They are hiding in the hollow of those ruins..."

Two trembling humans stood before the great throne of the Deliverer of Darkness. The remains of their weapons were in their hands. Aku was staring at the destroyed guns and his servants. It was obvious to everyone that he was neither pleased nor amused. It also was obvious that he tried to appear calm, but the perfect slash which cut the weapons in half reeked of something the dark lord feared the most.

"What do you mean _nobody_ attacked you and destroyed the guns?" the demon roared.

Was this some kind of joke? These humans should have known better than to play word games with Aku.

"We apologize, master, but…" one of the humans spoke, trying to form words. “We aren’t sure who that was. He… She… They had a sword…"

"And a helmet with a mask. They said they were nobody," the other added.

"Then you will find this Nobody! Go! Whoever dares strike against the servants of Aku shall be punished! Find them!" Aku commanded.

Rising from his throne, he created a windy stream that set the sticky papers flying all over his lair. He was glad that this news was delivered to him in person ; he'd had enough of his servants sticking little papers with information on gates and walls. Apparently, they ran out of those papers and finally had to address him eye to eye.

Once his henchmen had left, Aku reduced his size and went back to his new toy. Perhaps those two better servants managed to fix the magical field they named "The Wi-Fi" and he could finally use the black rectangular machine to learn more about the world and its history.

And who knows, it might help him find what he was looking for…

***

A teenage girl wearing shorts and a white shirt was hiding in an alley of her destroyed hometown. In front of her there was a tall black building with spikes protruding out of its top. The tower was still not completely finished and others like it were already being constructed as well. The girl frowned at the whole scenery ; the monster destroyed the existing city and then decided to build everything anew, only in his image.

People were roaming the streets and it was clear that they were all enslaved ; they were dressed in old rags and mostly followed or observed by Aku's servants. Black whips adorned the hips of Aku's minions and the girl noticed that they were not particularly shy with using them. Aku's human guards had much more dangerous weapons. The girl wondered if they all joined Aku’s Forces because they had no choice or if some of them had joined willingly. She hoped not, but history was filled with humans who enjoyed killing humans.

Slowly, the girl moved deeper into the alley, trying to be quiet. She stepped into pieces of paper on the floor and moved her leg. Maybe it was newspaper. She decided to pick it up and gasped. It was a wanted poster. _A wanted poster of herself_. Granted, the image drawn on the poster was crude and somewhat hilarious ; she recognized the helmet and the mask she wore but the picture made it all look like she was some sort of a monster herself. The poster informed that she was wanted dead or alive, with her possessions intact, for a hefty sum of money. She stared at the symbols that spelled the name and chuckled. _Nobody._ _They think my name is Nobody. Really?_ She thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. It was as good an alias as any.

Carefully, she folded the poster and put it in her pocket. She observed the walls of the dark alley and saw many more of those plastered on top of one another. Aku really didn't waste time. And he apparently knew about the sword. It was unfortunate that she had to do what she did the day before, but there were no other acceptable solutions. She could be Nobody, but she would not be a murderer.

Nobody remained in that alley for a while, trying to see if there were any weaknesses in Aku's fortress. She could see none. Minions came and went, some alone, some with prisoners. She counted dozens of the demon's servants. Too many to fight so early. She knew she still needed practice, and attacking Aku in his tower filled with minions was not the best place to test her skills in a real battle for the first time. The demon would not be destroyed yet, and before that comes to pass, the girl would need plans, allies and help.

The first plan came to her after spending a few hours observing the fortress. Most of Aku's servants were different, but she kept seeing three of them walking in a group, going out of the fortress and returning after a while with prisoners. Swiftly but carefully, the wielder of the sword left her hiding place to move through the alley, all the while following the group of three minions. With each minute that passed, she was more certain that those were not human.

They strolled through the remains of the city. Even though it was dark at this hour, only a few of the street lamps were repaired and working. It suited Nobody who wanted to remain hidden while she was following the minions. The farther they went from the fortress, the quieter it got. There were also no more minions anywhere besides the group of three Nobody was tracking.

"They are hiding in the hollow of those ruins," one of them spoke while pointing at the unremarkable rubble a few metres ahead.

"We will encircle them and flush them out," another replied.

All three nodded. Two walked to both sides of the ruins while the third readied its whip and waited. Nobody waited as well. As soon as the first two minions were out of her sight, she stepped out of the alley, helmet and mask already on her head and the sword already in her hands. She attempted to walk over to the minion stealthily, but the stones were too loud under her feet. One wrong step and the minion slowly turned its head. They were definitely not human, she was certain of it.

"Stop right there!" the thing shouted.

It drew and began swinging its whip, but Nobody was faster. She ran into the minion and stuck her sword into it. She only heard a gasp and the creature completely disappeared from her sight, its clothing falling to the ground without their wearer in them. Nobody sighed with relief.

She hurried forward, climbing the rubble and following the screams that started echoing through the empty, dark streets. The teenager reached the top of the rubble and looked down ; it wasn't very far away. Two minions were snapping their whips at a group of people. Nobody checked her helmet and gripped the sword tightly. She took a few steps back and then ran, jumping when she reached the edge.

The minions and the people all looked up when a girl with a sword emerged out of nowhere. She dropped to the ground, close to one of Aku’s servants, slashing the hand that held the whip. With another swift motion, she also cut the entire creature in half, letting the clothes fall to the ground and their owner turn to smoke.

She turned around to face the last minion. It had the whip ready and swung it, but Nobody slashed it when it flew towards her face. The red-clad creature took a step back. It seemed to have been examining the human before it and its own chances. Then it dropped the whip, turned and attempted to run away. Nobody watched the minion run. She positioned herself, aimed for a moment and then threw the sword. She never tried it before, but the blade listened. It flew and hit the minion in the back, making it collapse and evaporate.

The girl went to get the sword back. When she returned and sheathed her weapon, she only saw a group of people completely in awe before her and what they had just witnessed.

"You can’t stay here," Nobody spoke. "I'll help you find a better shelter, but we should go soon, before someone finds out what happened."

"Thank you so much, stranger!" one of the men said.

"I am Nobody," she replied.

She wanted to tell them that she was no stranger to this city, but the less they knew the better. Nobody observed the group : there were a dozen of people. Some old, some young, some not from Japan at all. _Unfortunate tourists._ She joined them as they all moved out of the rubble in search of a better and more secure shelter. Her hands trembled with joy. She really saved them. She had just won her first true battle.


	11. Nobody and the Scottish Guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We really have picked the worst possible time for our vacation..."

_We really have picked the worst possible time for our vacation_ , the red-haired young man had thought to himself every single day of the past four months.

First a giant monster which put Godzilla to shame destroyed everything in its path. The young man had survived by pure luck ; his parents weren’t so fortunate.

Then, he found himself joining a group of complete strangers who hid among the ruins not to become slaves of the very same giant monster. Some of them spoke English, however he didn’t know Japanese well enough to really communicate with the others. He still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what was actually going on, but apparently the monster was called Aku and he was in charge now. This didn’t sound good. And the foreigner had already abandoned all hope of seeing Scotland ever again. The group he was in had been lucky enough to escape Aku’s servants… Until now.

When two of those green-eyed…things closed in on them, he thought everything was lost. Then, an unexpected saviour wearing one of those samurai helmets came out of nowhere and sliced the creatures, turning them into smoke and red fabric that fell on the ground. Every witness’s jaw dropped at this sight.

She spoke after sheathing her katana, her voice slightly muffled by the mask on her face. Soon, everyone moved away from the rubble, following the anonymous warrior. If she was there to protect them, all hope wasn’t lost after all.

The foreigner walked up to her and, after some hesitation, finally spoke :

 “Hum… arigato?”

She stopped where she was and looked at him. He wished he could see her expression under her cold metal mask.

 “You’re not from here are you?” she asked him in English and with a thick Japanese accent.

 “No”, he replied in his native language. “Let’s just say we picked the worst possible time to come visit this country…”

They both resumed walking ahead of the rest of the group.

 “Ok, I know it might sound ridiculous to ask a person with a mask who they are but… who are you?” the young man asked.

The anonymous warrior took a paper from the pocket of her shorts, unfolded it and showed it to the foreigner : it seemed to be a wanted posters with a drawing of her mask on it.

 “According to this, I’m Nobody”, she told him.

 “O…k…” he said while she folded the poster again and put it back in her pocket. “Well, I guess you must have good reasons to hide your identity and all…”

Nobody nodded.

 “I’m John by the way”, the redhead told her, extending his arm.

 “Nice you meet you”, she replied, stopping again to shake his hand.

 “By the way, hum, Nobody… where are we going?”

 “Good question.”

***

The girl with the helmet led the way. She didn't know where to go exactly, but going as far away as possible from Aku's fortress was an obvious choice. Even though the city was still in ruins, Nobody was glad to be home at last. She was also glad to have helped these people. Softly, she smiled beneath the mask, happy for having a real conversation with someone after months of seclusion. Perhaps she could even have a friend in these dreadful times.

 _A friend_. Nobody wondered where Mako was. Her smile disappeared as swiftly as it came. She knew Mako was strong, capable and careful. Nonetheless, she feared for them. Taking a deep breath, Nobody calmed herself, deciding to focus on what she has now. John walked just a few steps behind her. He seemed kind and polite. Nobody smiled beneath the mask again when she noticed that he was about her height ; most people who were her age or older were taller.

"John?" Nobody called and the boy raised his head. "Were you visiting my country alone or…?"

John sighed and lowered his head. Nobody immediately understood the dark expression on his face.

"No. My parents…" he began and looked at the girl. "The initial attack caught us while we were in the metro. I was lucky."

"I'm sorry," Nobody said. "At least you know. I have no idea what happened to my parents."

John caught up with Nobody and shared her grief.

"Maybe they are still alive. I hope so," he said and Nobody was grateful. "Do you… Hum, know about this… _Thing_?"

"I know a little bit," Nobody replied, knowing who John referring to. "His name is Aku. He's an ancient evil that attacked my homeland before."

"Really? How was he defeated? Why doesn't everyone know about it?"

"I… It became a legend that people didn't take seriously," Nobody said and then hesitated. She didn't distrust John, but telling him about the sword was risky. "I'm not sure how he was defeated. If I knew, I'd do it myself."

She was squeezing the hilt of the sword and realized it only moments after she said that. After letting go of the blade, she focused more on her path and navigated in the opposite direction from Aku's fortress. They saw no one on their path and Nobody wondered if there were other people hiding. Maybe they had all already been caught. She shivered at the thought.

It took them a few hours until they saw someone else in the street. Nobody was the first to hear faint whimpering. She halted the group of people following her, grabbed the sword and went ahead. With a sigh of relief, she found three people, hiding in the ruins. She was aware of the fact that she looked scary with that helmet, mask and the sword so she sheathed her weapon again. John and one other person from the group came to aid her and reassure the newcomers that they had nothing to fear. Nobody thanked them both and they all continued their walk.

Three more people joined by the time Nobody realized they almost left the city. During most of their way, she couldn't make out the details of her own city. However, when they arrived in a neighbourhood filled with collapsed houses, she recognized it immediately. _Her home_. Even in ruins, Nobody was able to recall the street and the neighbouring houses. She remembered all those moments of walking through there with Mako, going back from school, going to the dojo or just hanging around.

"Are you okay?" John asked.

"What?" Nobody said, confused.

"You just stopped. Are we not safe here?"

"No, we're safe. At least I hope so. This is my neighbourhood", she explained. "We're far away enough," she added, observing the rising dark tower in the distance behind them.

"I suppose you might want to check your house?" John said with a faint smile.

"Yes. You go rest with the others. It looks like there is a decent place there to use as a shelter," she said and pointed at a nearby house which wasn’t entirely destroyed. "There could be supplies as well. I will join you later."

John just nodded and led the people towards the house, leaving Nobody alone in the street. She felt relieved for being left alone to search for her house, even though she feared about what she might find inside. _My mother was at the dig. My father was at work. They could not have been in the house_. After taking a deep breath, she walked towards the end of the street where her home used to stand.


	12. Mako

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She knew her parents weren’t home when Aku came back from his imprisonment, but what about her friend’s mother and father?"

There wasn’t much left of either her house or Mako’s right next to it. The only things that told Nobody she was in the right place were her memory and the fork in the road not far from her. She knew her parents weren’t home when Aku came back from his imprisonment, but what about her friend’s mother and father?

As she was approaching the ruins, the girl heard footsteps nearby and hid behind the nearest pile of rubble. When silence returned, she dared to take a peek from behind the remains of her home…

And couldn’t hold back a shocked gasp ; not because the human standing there was wearing the uniform of Aku’s Forces, but because it was Mako. It was Mako wearing the colours of the enemy. Not even in her worst nightmares had Nobody ever thought such a thing would be possible. It couldn’t actually be them, could it?

The person in red heard the masked girl and approached her hiding place ; she was too shocked to move away.

 “M…Mako?” she asked as they now stood right next to her behind the rubble.

 “Yes, -” they started to reply ; however their friend interrupted them before they could say her real name.

 “It’s ‘Nobody’ now… apparently.”

 “Couldn’t you find a better alias?” Mako commented, their fist on one hip and a gun in a holster on the other.

 “Hey, I didn’t find it, they did” Nobody stated. “…Are you… Are you really working for Aku?”

 “So does your dad.”

 “What???”

 “It was that or slavery or death!” they yelled. “Do you really think we had a choice? Do you really think I like working for the demon responsible for my parents’ death and the destruction and enslavement of my country? Your dad and I had to stay alive! It’s not like we could fight Aku or anything : _you_ had the weapon that can kill him but _you weren’t there!_ I came back here everyday over the past four months, hoping to see you again!”

The teenage girl sat down, letting herself slowly fall on what was left of her house’s floor.

 “I… I’m sorry…” she said. “They didn’t let me leave the ship and… I’m so sorry.”

 “I bet you are.”

She stared at the ground, not daring to meet her friend’s gaze again. Four whole minutes of silence passed before she uttered any word.

 “…What happened while I was gone?”

 “You want a summary?” the teenager in red asked, their arms crossed on their chest. “My dad died in the construction of Aku’s tower. My mom was brought to this monster and never seen again. No reason or explanation given. Your dad and I thought not telling Aku or anyone else about our families would be best, but it didn’t protect my parents.”

 “…I’m sorry.”

 “The good news is : your parents are still alive.”

 “They both are?” Nobody whispered, standing up again, her heart racing in her chest.

 “But if Aku knew they’re a couple he would most likely kill your dad right before your mom just to torture her more. They’re not really on friendly terms, you see… According to Aku, she tried to oppose him so he made an example of her. She’s attached to the wall of his fortress, above the main entrance, so everyone can see her.”

The masked girl had to use the pile of rubble next to her to keep her balance.

 “And if he finds out you two are related…” Mako explained, not daring to finish their sentence.

They didn’t need to.

 “He’s been looking for the sword, you know”, they informed their friend. “I guess that means it really works, or he wouldn’t bother.”

Nobody grabbed the hilt of her weapon. _Not everything is lost yet…_

 “I’m supposed to bring you and the sword to him, but…” her friend said. “If I did that, he would become completely invincible so… I didn’t see you there.”

 “There’s nobody here anyway…” the wielder of the sacred blade added.

 “Sorry I yelled at you”, Mako told her. “I… I should go now. Your dad and I convinced Aku to get the electricity and wi-fi back in the city so he could keep using his new laptop and we have to watch over the repairs, you see. Maybe you’ll be able to contact your brother?”

The girl was too shocked to say anything. She just watched her friend as they turned around, leaving. For months she feared for Mako and their safety. All this time, they were forced to work for Aku. It was clear to Nobody that her comrade resented her for being left behind and their friend never expected the reunion would go this way. She was hurt, but at least she finally knew what happened to her friend and family. Nobody swore to make things right.

***

The day after, Mako and Nobody’s father found themselves somewhere in Aku’s fortress, fixing the problems of the Shogun of Sorrow’s laptop. This meant downloading a good anti-virus program, scanning the computer and waiting for the results.

 “How did he manage to get forty-four different viruses and spywares in so little time?” the teenager asked themselves out loud as they were sitting against the red-orange wall, the computer on their lap.

 “I don’t want to know”, the middle-aged man replied while walking around in circle in front of his daughter’s friend.

Mako sighed but didn’t comment.

 “All I want to know is : will _she_ be able to oppose him?” the adult asked.

 “She’ll do it or die trying and you know it.”

Before they could discuss the matter further, a shadow appeared through to entrance of the room.

 “You show him how to delete the browser history, Mako”, said Nobody’s father while rushing towards the exit, “I have, hum, stuff and things do to…”

 “Hey”, the teenager shouted, “don’t leave me alone with – Oh, good evening your all-enshrouding Aku-ness…”

 “Is the device fixed?” the Deliverer of Darkness asked, pointing at the laptop with his claw.

 “Almost. The program we downloaded is curing the computer of its problems and… oh, it’s done now. You arrived just on time, my lord.”

The young member of Aku’s Forces gave the laptop back to their master and explained to him how to use the anti-virus program. And also what computer viruses were. The demon seemed very interested by the concept and kept asking more questions, which was quite unusual as he preferred figuring things out by himself most of the time. _He must have something on the back of his mind… and knowing him, it can’t be good._

 “Can this technology be used against the enemies of Aku”? the wizard finally asked.

_Here we are…_

 “I guess so”, Mako replied “but it would take some time to do properly, my lord. I’ll talk to the others about it.”

 “Unlike some others, you and your father haven’t disappointed me yet”, Aku stated. “Make sure it remains this way.”

He then left, holding the laptop in his four-fingered hand. The teenager didn’t even bother to correct him. After all, their friend’s father was the only parental figure they could still talk to…


	13. Scouting the Area

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Now that it was daytime Nobody might find things she had missed the night before."

The teenage girl had spent the night in the ruins of her home. She was now training with the sword like she had been doing every day for months. It felt like her body was doing it on its own. Without even thinking, she picked up a fallen brick, threw it in the air and sliced it in half before it reached the ground. Then she heard clapping and turned around to identify the source of the noise.

Which was none other than John.

 “How long have you been there?” Nobody asked him.

 “I just arrived”, he replied. “The others were wondering where you went. Can you do that thing again?”

She picked up another brick and demonstrated her little trick to the foreigner.

 “How do you do that?” he asked her.

 “Months of training”, she explained. “And how didn’t I hear you? I bet even shinobi made more noise than you…”

 “Hum…thank you.”

The girl smiled under her mask, then asked the young man to throw her a stone so she could cut it mid-flight, which he did.

 “Say, Nobody, are katanas supposed to be able to cut st- wait, that’s a stupid question…”

 “It’s not stupid”, she laughed. “This one is more solid than ordinary blades”, the masked teenager added while sheathing her sword. “Anyway… how are the others?”

 “I’d say they’re doing ok, given… well, the whole situation. We’ve found a few food cans, wanna share with us?”

Nobody’s stomach answered for her.

***

Scouting the area to find other people attempting to escape slavery seemed to be as good an idea as any. Beside, now that it was daytime Nobody might find things she had missed the night before. John had asked her if he could join, as he felt much safer when she was around. Now they were walking together through the destroyed streets in complete silence.

The apparent calm was disturbed when a woman appeared in their field of vision, running as if all the demons of hell were after her, which might not be that far from the truth. When she saw the two youngsters, she stopped abruptly, almost losing her balance, and took a few steps back before realising they were neither members of Aku’s Forces nor his minions. She stared at Nobody, mouth open wide, while catching her breath.

 “Yes, it’s me”, the masked girl said, guessing the woman recognised her from those posters. “What’s happening?”

 “I… I just escaped and – and I think they’re still after me, please you must help me, Idontwanttogoback!”

John’s gaze kept going back and forth between the woman and the direction she came from. He couldn’t understand a word of what she or Nobody were saying, but the adult’s tone of voice made it clear danger was near.

The newly formed trio left the street right away and went back to the group of free survivors. Then Nobody informed everyone she would try to see if there were any visible weaknesses in Aku’s fortress she could have missed by night. Before anyone could utter another word, she was already out of sight.

The teenager got as close from the dark tower as she dared to, hiding behind other buildings (or what was left of them) not to be spotted by the guards. This time, in the light of day, she could see every single one of the slaves building Aku’s new empire. And she could see what she had mistaken for some humanoid-shaped decoration above the main entrance in the darkness of the night was indeed a real, living person. Just like Mako said, it was her mother. Her mother she had assumed was dead. Her mother she hadn’t seen since the day before her birthday, the day before the shape-shifting demon turned her whole world upside-down. Her mother she wanted to free from this huge lintel but couldn’t even approach without being spotted by the guards.

_You won’t stay here forever, mom. I’ll save you. I’ll save everyone even if it kills me._

Nobody took two steps forwards to get a better look, then two more. Distracted by her own thoughts, she didn’t even hear anyone approaching before it was too late. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground and a woman in red and black holding a stun baton towered over her.

 “You, carry her to our barracks, we’ll get her ready to see the boss.”

A giant of a man, also wearing the uniform of Aku’s Forces, took Nobody on his shoulder like a flour bag and carried her to another street where stood several shacks made of sheet metal and other materials found nearby. The woman with the stun baton, walking ahead of him, opened the door of one of the shacks and entered. Her friend followed her and dropped Nobody on three wooden crates that formed a bench against the far wall.

 “Put the zip ties on her wrist and ankles now.”

The man did as instructed while his superior kept her weapon pointed towards Nobody, ready to immobilise her again if needed. The teenager didn’t move a muscle even though sensation came back to her body. She couldn’t escape yet. As Mako would say, she needed a plan ; however she couldn’t think of any that would guarantee her to avoid being captured again.

_No, this isn’t how it ends! There must be some other way…_

 “Do we take her mask off now?” the man asked.

The woman sighed and, talking slowly, replied to him with another question :

 “If we present her to Aku without her helmet and mask, how will he be certain it’s actually Nobody?”

 “Oh…” he said when he got her point. “I wonder what she actually looks like though. I’ve heard she was really ugly under there.”

The teenage girl wished she could shoot laser eye-beams at this beefcake for not keeping his thoughts to himself, but she said nothing.

 “I’ve heard worse than this”, his superior told him while leaving her stun baton on a chair on her left.

Then, she took Nobody’s sword from its sheath.

 “Gimme that back!” the girl shouted, trying to sit up.

The woman ignored her, focusing on the blade instead.

 “Beautiful”, she whispered.

 “I need it!” Nobody shouted, desperately pulling at the zip ties but only managing to hurt her wrists.

 “Not anymore”, the female member of Aku’s Forces stated coldly.

_No. It’s not over. Not yet._

Holding the sword’s hilt in one hand, the woman in red and black gently touched the tip of the blade with the index finger of her other hand. A drop of blood appeared on her fingertip ; she automatically put it between her lips to suck the red liquid from her cut.

 “Beautiful and really sharp”, she commented.

 “Unlike you”, Nobody responded.

The male member of Aku’s Forces cracked his knuckles menacingly, glaring at the teenager.

The woman, also glaring at her, pushed her partner away ; he understood the message and stepped back to leave her more room to move.

 “You’re gonna pay for this”, she told Nobody, her voice cold as ice but her eyes boiling with anger.

She grabbed the girl by the collar, sat her up on the crates and violently pushed her against the metallic wall, making the whole shack tremble ; then she used the sword to vertically cut her white shirt open. Now holding the hilt in both her hands, the woman struck the teenager’s belly with the blade…

Yet nothing happened. The ancient weapon simply wouldn’t cut its owner’s body. It didn’t even leave a scratch.

The servant of Aku dropped the blade on the floor and took several steps back.

 “You… You’re not human!” her partner exclaimed as he also moved farther away from Nobody.

They didn’t seem to notice the masked girl’s eyes were just as wide as theirs.

The woman reached for her stun baton…


	14. The Scottish Guy Saves Nobody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How come you’re immune to swords?”

The woman reached for her stun baton and found it missing. She fumbled in shock, trying to locate her weapon by looking around. Perhaps this little… _inhuman_ girl had other powers. As a servant of Aku, the woman had seen enough. There wasn't much she could leave to imagination any longer. Her colleague was equally frightened ; he took a few steps back and then ran away. The woman hoped he'd return with backup…

Then she backed away in an attempt to locate anything else she might use as a weapon, but felt a sting on her neck so intense and painful that she bent over and ended on the floor. Behind her, there was a young man, breathing heavily while holding a stun baton.

 "J-John?" Nobody uttered slowly, still confused about not being harmed by the sword.

John approached her, not believing what he had just done. On his way, he picked up the sword and used it on the zip ties around Nobody's wrists and ankles.

 "You're insane," Nobody told him, standing up. "Thank you. You followed me?"

John nodded and handed the sword back to the girl.

 "I didn't want to stay in that camp. Patrolling and looking for survivors is more important," John said.

"Well, I'm lucky to have you by my side," Nobody told him, smiling beneath her mask and wishing he could see her relief. "But we have to go now, quickly."

At that point, she remembered about her shirt and glanced down. The shirt was ripped and her bra was clearly visible, but Nobody did not have the time to fix that at the moment. John and her had to leave the barracks right away.

Holding the sword ready for possible battle, Nobody led the way and John followed her with the stun baton in his hands. Outside, the two lines of metal shacks formed a new street between them. Wondering if there were other people imprisoned here, Nobody stepped out. Would it be wise to check the shacks and possibly save other prisoners?

 "Wait…" she said.

 "We can't," John replied immediately. "If we get swarmed by Aku's Forces in here, we'll both end up in a cell."

The girl nodded sadly ; John was right. She couldn’t afford getting captured again. It shouldn't have happened in the first place. As they silently moved through the barracks and out of the area, luckily they didn’t encounter other guards. But Nobody would not forget where they kept the prisoners. She made sure to remember how to get to the barracks because she definitely and seriously considered coming back and aiding prisoners. At least, that was what she wanted to do.

 "I hope I didn't kill that woman," John said suddenly when they left the vicinity of Aku's fortress and the barracks.

 "I'm sure she'll be fine," Nobody replied.

Perhaps the woman would be fine from the stun baton, but Nobody didn’t have the heart to think about what would happen to her once Aku finds out she had the girl and lost her.

 “And, hum… ‘guess we should get you a new shirt…” the young man said after a few minutes of walking in silence.

After what he witnessed in the shack, many questions were going through his mind ; however he wasn’t quite sure where to start.

 “There isn’t any clothes stores still open in this part of town, is there?” the teenage girl asked, trying to hold her shirt closed in front of her.

 “I wish I knew”, the foreigner sighed. “It’d be great to find some new clothes right now. And also a launderette : I haven’t been able to wash my binder in – Hum, I mean… hum…”

He suddenly stopped walking. Sweating nervously, the redhead spewed out the first thing he could think of in order to change the subject :

 “How come you’re immune to swords?”

Nobody also stopped and turned around to face him.

 “I’m not!” she replied, resting her hand on the hilt of her katana. “I don’t think? I mean…”

She struggled a moment to find the words in English.

 “I’ve been… cut by other things before…” she whispered. “So why… Oh. I think I get it. It’s the sword. It refused to hurt me.”

John only replied by incoherent confused sounds. When, a few seconds later, he started blushing and averting his gaze, the girl realised she had momentarily forgotten about her ruined shirt and let it wide open.

She turned her back to him and resumed her walk ; he soon followed her silently, clutching his new weapon until they reached the place where the group of free survivors were waiting for them.

Everyone knew they couldn’t stay here : after all, it was by constantly moving that these people had escaped Aku’s minions for so long. It was time to find a new shelter and Nobody took the responsibility of protecting them during their research. When asked what had happen to her shirt, their protector, not wanting to worry them too much, simply said she had gotten into a fight.

Their quest for a safer place led them farther away from the city centre. Here, some of the buildings, including a relatively small hotel, actually still had their roofs. John’s jaw dropped at the sight.

 “That’s the hotel my parents and I were staying in!” he cried out, frozen in place in front of the building’s entrance. “I can’t believe it’s still standing…”

His voice decreased in volume until it was barely more than a whisper. Tears started appearing in his eyes and slowly rolling down his face. The others didn’t see them, as they were standing behind him in silence ; however, the girl with the mask, who was right next to him, noticed and gently put her hand on his shoulder.

 “John?” she asked.

 “I just… look at it. Aku didn’t cause as much destruction here as he did in other parts of this city and… and… What if… we had stayed in the hotel room? I’m sure my parents would still be alive now…”

 “You don’t know that. And… How do you say again? Oh, yeah, ‘the past is in the past’.”

The foreigner nodded silently and dried his tears on his sleeve.

 “I’m sorry about your parents”, Nobody added. “I’ll make Aku pay for this, I swear.”

John still didn’t utter any more word, but instead hugged her tightly. He then let her go just as suddenly and entered the hotel, followed by the others.

This was their best shelter yet : they finally had separate rooms and beds to sleep on and the roof was only slightly damaged. Nobody picked a room with single bed, closed the door, removed her helmet and mask, sat down, took her little notebook and pen from her pocket and started writing. The pages had had the time to dry after going through the water when she had jumped from the boat, but most of what she had previously written was now illegible and needed to be re-written, which she did before she could finally add the most recent events.

Now, she could allow herself to take some rest.


	15. The Hotel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The teenage girl now had about twenty people to defend with John’s help : she couldn't let them down."

The morning after, John knocked on Nobody’s door, holding some clothes in his arm.

 “Hey, Nobody, it’s me. I’ve found something for you!”

After a short silence, the girl’s sleepy voice replied to him :

 “Come in…”

The young man entered to find his friend sitting on her bed, the blanket wrapped around her to cover her body. But it wasn’t the main reason why John was frozen in place, unable to speak.

Indeed, for the first time since they met, she didn’t have any helmet or mask on.

 “What?” she asked, yawning loudly.

The foreigner, suddenly brought back to reality, finally remembered how to talk :

 “Sorry, it’s just… It’s the first time I see your face. I, hum… didn’t expect that… I guess?”

 “Did you think I slept with the mask and kabuto on?” Nobody laughed.

 “I didn’t really think about – wait, ‘kabuto’? What do Pokémon have to do with anything?”

 “No, _this_ is a kabuto” she explained while pointing at her samurai helmet on the bedside table.

 “Oh, sorry… Hum, does that mean you named the Pokémon after -”

 “No, the game developers did.”

 “…Anyway, I found the room my parents and I had rented and some of my clothes were still there!” John told the teenage girl cheerfully. “Here, catch!”

He threw the clothes at her and she caught them in one swift motion ; then he turned around to give her some privacy.

 “How do I look?” she asked a minute or two later.

The young man turned again. His white shirt with the blue collar and sleeves had always been a little tight for him, but it fitted Nobody quite nicely. His grey trousers were maybe a little loose on her but her belt had already fixed this problem.

 “You look great”, he replied. “If you keep that up you won’t even have to fight Aku, just to seduce him.”

_Oh god, did I actually just say that?_

Complete silence followed his words for what felt like an eternity… until Nobody burst out laughing. John quickly followed. Soon they both had to sit on the bed not to lose their balance. The two youngsters hadn’t laughed this hard in months ; this was much needed after all the hardships they already had gone through and before those they had yet to face.

 “That sounds like a _bad_ idea” Nobody pointed out when she finally managed to stop laughing long enough to speak.

 “Yeah, I doubt someone like him would… be easily seduced or – or fall in love or -” the foreigner started between two bursts of laughter.

His friend wasn’t laughing anymore ; this made him stop as well.

 “What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, glaring at him.

 “I mean… he’s an evil monster and all… right?”

 “And what? What – how do you say…? What does it have to do with love?”

John desperately tried to find a good answer somewhere in his brain but couldn’t find any. At least not when the teenage girl was glaring at him like this…

She grabbed the pillow lying on the bed and hit him on the head with it once.

 “There are evil people who fall in love and good people who never do, you know!” she said.

Then, she added, punctuating every word with a hit of her pillow :

 “You can be aromantic and a good person!”

 “I’m sorry, I’m sorry pleasedonthitme!”

 “I’m sorry, John”, the teenage girl apologised while putting the pillow away, “it’s just… a sensitive subject.”

 “Next time I’ll think before I speak. I’m sorry.”

Nobody took the sword from under the bed, stood up and secured it in her belt. In this moment of silence, the foreigner observed her and finally understood what surprised him the most about seeing her unmasked : she looked so young. Younger than him.

 “Can I ask you another thing?” he asked as the girl was putting her kabuto on.

She replied by an “mmm?” sound that John took as a yes.

 “How old are you?”

 “Sixteen”, she responded while securing her mask on her face. “And you?”

John was already missing her un-muffled voice.

 “…So you _are_ younger than me. I’m nineteen.”

The sixteen-years-old warrior nodded, then she and her friend left the room to inspect the hotel further.

Her father and Mako might have brought electricity and wi-fi back in the neighbourhood of Aku’s fortress, but this building had neither. Also, as everyone had already noticed earlier, there was no running water either. However, there were a few people who were already there when the group arrived. They had been trying to fix the damages in the roof and walls with whatever they could get their hands on for a while now.

When they heard of Nobody and how she could protect them from Aku’s troops, they accepted to share their supplies.

The teenage girl now had about twenty people to defend with John’s help : she couldn’t let them down. However, she wouldn’t be able to protect them forever : the source of the problem needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. But how could she enter the tower the demon lived in without being caught by the guards again?

Then it hit her : these twenty unfortunate humans weren’t just helpless people she had the burden of protecting, but they could also aid her. She would tell them about the sword and her plan to destroy Aku ; maybe they would accept to help her. She had already started to assemble those who had escaped slavery, and she would continue to do it until she had gathered enough followers.

She couldn’t do it alone. However, she wasn’t alone. If Aku could recruit humans to oppress their own kin, Nobody could recruit humans to free their own people and ultimately save the world. Then, maybe, she would be able to face him and end his reign of terror before it even started to really spread. Armed with the sword and the hope of her people, she had a chance… no, _they_ had a chance to take back their land from the demon’s claws.


	16. Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "No, we’re just taking back what’s ours."

The last twenty free people still in the city were all gathered in the hall of the hotel, listening to the masked girl who was standing on a chair to be seen by all.

 “Long ago, in this very land, our ancestors managed to defeat Aku and banish him into the Dark Tree”, she told them. “We can defeat him again. We don’t have to just wait here until this monster enslaves or kills us : we can take back our home! We’ll make our own fortress of this building, a fortress for all those who escaped the demon’s claws like you all did. We can fight off Aku’s Forces from here. And if the monster himself wants to fight…”

Nobody unsheathed her katana and brandished it in front of her for all to see.

 “This is the sacred blade that was used to defeat him the first time. He’s been looking for it – and for me – because he knows from experience it can harm him.”

She sheathed her weapon before continuing :

 “But the sword by itself is not enough. I need your help. Not to fight Aku himself, but to free the slaves and prisoners and fight his minions. Taking care of the shape-shifting demon wizard will be my job.”

A short red-haired young man in the back broke the silence which followed by clapping enthusiastically but was quickly told by those around him to stop. The others mumbled among themselves. Had the very same people been told a few months earlier that a teenager with a magic sword would be their saviour, they probably would have laughed at the thought ; however, after the recent events, they were ready to believe anything. Especially if it gave them hope that things could go back to normal one day.

They all accepted to become Nobody’s allies and decided to start fortifying the building right away. As everyone else was grabbing all the tables they could get their hands on to block all the windows on ground floor, the foreigner approached the teenage girl as she went down from her chair. He didn’t understand every word of her speech but she had talked to him about it earlier and therefore had a general idea of it.

 “Look at you now”, he said, smiling, “Only sixteen and already leader of a rebellion.”

 “Rebellion?” she repeated. “No, we’re just taking back what’s ours. Or at least we’ll try.”

 "Well, Aku might disagree about that," John told her with a weary smile.

Nobody knew this was the truth and it angered her that people must die to take back what was rightfully theirs. The least she could do was make sure the death rate would end up being low. This was why the hotel needed to be fortified.

People worked on it most of the day and night. The atrium of the hotel was turned into a camp, while the entrances to the upper floors were blocked, the best they could have been, given the lack of resources. Only a few rooms on the first floor were left accessible. The next step was getting water back to the building. Nobody gathered everyone in the hall to address them about the issue.

"First I want to thank everyone for doing their best," she told them. "Our biggest issue right now, however, is water. Is there anyone who might be skilled to investigate and fix the problem?"

Silence. The girl expected it : this group of people in front of her was still too small. She decided to let it go for the time being. Few minutes later, she was back at one of the desks, inspecting her journal and all she had written so far, when John approached her.

 "I guess we'll still be peeing in bathtubs," Nobody told him, sighing beneath the mask.

 "’Doesn't bother me much. I don't have a pleasant experience with restrooms," he replied and fidgeted.

 "You speak like Mako" the girl told him without thinking.

 "Mako?"

 "My best friend. Unfortunately, we were separated during evacuation…" she tried to explain, but then stopped : it brought painful memories. "Let's… Let's not talk about this for now."

 "I understand," John said with a sigh.

 "I understand you as well. Mako, and some of my other friends, always had problems with public restrooms."

Nobody noticed a clear expression of relief on John's face.

 "You may have… Well, guessed, that I'm trans", John said, instantly feeling better. "I had just started taking my T, and then I got stuck here for months, without my refill…"

 "I'm really sorry" was the only thing the girl could say. "Maybe we can try to find you refills?"

 "As much as I'd like that, I think we have more urgent things to worry about. Like drinking water and food that hasn’t spoilt yet. Medical supplies as well."

Nobody nodded and admired her friend's courage and the will to put the needs of the many above his own. She spent the rest of the day with John, helping and organizing their little “rebellion”.

It appeared that the word had spread about the hotel and during the next few days more people joined them, doubling their number. Nobody asked every single person who entered the hotel if they knew how to bring back running water to the building. After many hours of shrugging and waiting, their luck finally turned when two men explained that they knew where to go and what to do in order to fix their problem.

There was also bad news. One newcomer, an older woman, informed them that the world was preparing for the inevitable : a final assault on Aku that would involve nuclear power. The entire hall went silent upon hearing that. The woman didn’t know the details but it made Nobody weary and anxious. She would have to deal with Aku _before_ other nations did something stupid. Attacking Aku with anything other than the sword would be useless and would only bring human casualties.

Unnerved by this information, Nobody received more bad news shortly after. A terrified little girl ran into the hotel, barely gathering her breath. She immediately sought out Nobody, falling to her knees in front of the girl with the helmet.

"Calm down, please, you are safe here," Nobody said, trying to soothe the girl.

One woman brought clean bandages and attempted to wrap the wounds on the girl's arms and legs.

"A guard… One of them, they helped me escape…" the little girl spoke, still breathing heavily. "’Told me to get here, to this place. And to find you… To tell you that Aku knows about it. He plans to attack this place."

Nobody needed to hear no more. It was obvious enough who would help this girl out. Either Mako or her father. They aided this young girl, told her to find Nobody and to carry the message about Aku's planned attack. They risked too much. The teenager decided not to let that risk be in vain.

They had to prepare. They had to hold their position and show Aku they would fight and that there would be no surrender.


	17. Siege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The enemy was now visible on the horizon and would be there any minute now."

The remaining of the day was spent checking the improvised fortifications built earlier that week and gathering any weapon and ammunition the Anti-Aku group could get their hands on, from kitchen knives to rocks or bricks they could throw at the opponents. It was known the enemy had various types of guns ; the people in the hotel-turned-fortress could only hope they wouldn’t have any more powerful weapons with them.

Now they were waiting for the red-clad soldiers to arrive, sharpening the knives, holding their breath and listening to the silence, worried they could miss the sentinel’s signal if they got distracted for too long. Their young leader decided to show whoever was in condition to fight what she had learned in jūjutsu class, especially the moves that would allow them to disarm an opponent.

Mako and her had always dreamed of teaching martial arts to others in their own dojo one day ; however Nobody would never have thought this day would come so early and without her friend by her side.

Then, the sentinel left the roof and burst into the atrium, shouting that the enemy was now visible on the horizon and would be there any minute now ; those who weren’t already in position rushed to every door and window that needed to be defended. As planned, John and his stun baton were part of the group that protected the service entrance while Nobody kept running between all the groups, shouting orders.

She stopped when, on one of the upper floors, she saw the little girl who had warned them of the attack standing by the window in one of the hotel rooms.

 “Don’t stay here, you could get shot!” she told her.

The child moved aside but still stared at the window.

Then Aku’s troops arrived. There were one hundred humans lead by four of these green-eyed whip wielding creatures outside. Inside, the teenage girl resumed her running between the different rooms and floors, this time to tell everyone to target the leaders first.

Down in the street, the soldiers stopped at a respectable distance from the hotel. One of the four minions, presumably the one with the highest rank, was given a megaphone to threaten the Anti-Aku in the building :

 “This is your last chance to surrender, humans.”

When one of the windows of the fifth floor opened to reveal the helmet and mask of Nobody, all the human servants of Aku took a step back.

 “We’ve worked too hard on this to surrender now!” she shouted at the top of her voice.

 “Shoot her you worthless worms!” the creature ordered its troops.

The young warrior moved away right on time to avoid being turned into Swiss cheese. The other members of the Anti-Aku who were close to windows took this opportunity to throw rocks and bricks at their opponents while the latter were focusing all their fire elsewhere. The minions either evaded all the projectiles thrown at them or caught them in mid-air ; the humans under their command weren’t as fast and more than one got either wounded or knocked unconscious by stray stones of varying sizes.

 “Throwing things at these creatures won’t do”, Nobody, now back in the room the little girl was in, thought aloud. “I should use my sword on them… but the humans would shoot me…”

 “But they say bullets can’t hurt you! They say nothing can hurt you!” the little girl said while waiting for an opportunity to throw the brick in her hand without being instantly shot.

 “What? Who told you that?” the teenager asked.

 “Everyone. The guards, they’re afraid of you.”

The wielder of the sacred blade thanked the little girl for this information and left the room. If Aku’s soldiers truly believed she couldn’t be killed, it would offer her an advantage over them. She rushed to the service entrance in the back of the hotel ; just as the door appeared in her field of vision, it exploded, forcing John and the two other people guarding it to run for cover elsewhere in the room.

Soon, four other minions entered and swung their whips ; Nobody dodged and unsheathed her katana as John stunned the creature next to him. The teenage girl cut it in half before it could recover from the shock and the third human present managed to stick a knife into the back of another minion’s neck.

As its two comrades turned into smoke, one of the remaining creatures managed to capture the forth human with its whip and was now using him as a shield. Nobody observed the minion and while she hesitated, the fourth creature left the building. In its stead, black and red clad humans entered.

 "Taser her!" someone yelled from the back. "That's her weakness!"

Nobody almost laughed at that remark, but then focused on the minion that was holding a hostage. Behind the minion, there were at least a dozen humans, their stun batons ready. A quick silence occurred before the girl with a samurai helmet and a mask threw her sword towards the minion.

A gasp followed. The hostage closed his eyes, the humans all stopped moving and the sword hit the minion right in the head. As it turned into smoke, the hostage was free and Nobody leaped towards the sword that fell to the floor. She grabbed it before any of the human enemies could move and then there was a buzzing sound. John clearly didn't waste his time ; he circled around and got right next to the group of humans. He tased the nearest enemy. His two comrades behind him started throwing rocks, hitting most of the people.

 "That's your weakness too!" Nobody said, not able to miss the opportunity.

She charged towards the remaining humans who were either not wounded from the rocks or not stunned from the stun baton, but as she did so, the humans started backing away. Nobody continued with her charge until the humans ran back out of the building.

 "You go help others, we'll seal this opening!" John yelled to her.

The girl nodded to her friend and left them after seeing them pushing a large closet towards the opening where the door used to be.

 _Aku's human forces are afraid._ Nobody knew that she must get rid of the last remaining demonic minions. Without that, it was possible the humans would not be so eager to continue and sacrifice themselves. She returned to the atrium and found that it was still well guarded. There were a few wounded, but thankfully no dead.

Nobody hurried to the first floor where people were still throwing rocks from the windows. She came with an idea to further scare the remaining humans of Aku's Forces. She approached the wall next to the one of the windows and waited for the shooting to stop. Once it did, Nobody took a deep breath, hoped that luck was still on her side and then lunged out of the window.

The first floor wasn't very high, but the landing wasn't as pleasant as Nobody hoped it would be. She landed on the ground and her legs barely supported her weight. In the last moment, she managed to roll over and land on her feet in front of the last demonic minion. It came down on Nobody with its whip but the girl deflected the attack with the sword. She moved before the creature struck again.

Back firmly on her feet, Nobody stared the minion down. Humans behind him stopped shooting at the hotel for a moment, petrified at Nobody's jump and fighting skills. The minion tried to attack her once more, but she fought back again, cutting the whip before it could reach her. They danced for a few seconds before Nobody managed to stick the sword right through the minion. As if she controlled it, a huge piece of cement fell from the above window and right onto the stabbed creature.

Nobody removed the sword a second before the demon was squashed by the rock. She looked up and saw the young girl, checking if she missed. Beneath her mask, Nobody smiled : the young girl got her revenge. After dealing with the minion, she turned to the remaining group of humans. Some ran away, some dropped their weapons and some raised their hands into the air. _All gave up_. With the demons gone, these people obviously felt much less eager to continue the fight.

The teenage girl sheathed her sword and sighed with relief. They had won.


	18. Before the Storm (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The Shogun of Sorrow was in a particularly bad mood on that day."

Two days later, Nobody, wondering why she hadn’t seen John since the night before, knocked on his door.

 “Go away!” his voice shouted.

 “John, it’s me!” she responded.

At first, only silence replied. Then, a barely audible “alright…” was heard from behind the door. The girl took it as an unenthusiastic invitation and entered to find her friend lying face first on his bed, both his arms under his belly, pressing against it. When asked if he was ok, he replied by a grumble Nobody took as a “no”.

 “We finally got water”, she told the foreigner while kneeling down next to the bed, not really knowing what to say but hoping hearing good news would make him feel a bit better. “…But it looks… We should still drink from the bottles supplies for now.”

John didn’t reply and the room remained uncomfortably quiet for what felt like an eternity or two.

 “I hate my body”, he finally grumbled. “And everything else.”

 “We’ll get you a refill of T and… and…”

 “Somehow, I doubt we’ll be able to do that right now”, the young man sighed and sat up on the bed.

Nobody stood up, took her headgear off and sat by her comrade’s side, the kabuto and mask next to her on the cover.

 “Everything was going fine for once”, John said, staring into the empty space before him. “My parents had started calling me their son, I was finally on my way to become the man I’ve always wanted to be… Then we arrived here. One day later, my parents were dead, the city was destroyed and I was stuck here because of Aku and… Just… I swear if I ever make it back to Scotland alive I’m never leaving it again.”

The teenage girl didn’t add anything to her friend’s monologue ; she put her hand on his shoulder instead.

 “You’re the only positive thing that happened since I arrived in this country”, he stated, now looking at her.

Nobody opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words in either Japanese or English.

 “You’ll be able to go back home soon, I promise”, she said when she finally remembered how to speak. “And… sorry, I have to ask : do you have tampons?”

 “Yeah. My mum packed them out of habit. Go ahead, take one or two.”

***

The Shogun of Sorrow was in a particularly bad mood on that day.

The attack on “Nobody”’s base had proven useless, a good chunk of the troops he had sent never returned (and he doubted all of them had been killed), his human servants feared this foolish girl more than ever and the internet was slower than usual.

The only good news Aku had received since sunrise was that some of his slaves had stumbled upon gems which they had no use of but, to him, could become a key source of power. However, they hadn’t dug out nearly enough of those yet.

 “There must be some spell that would allow me to keep an eye on ‘Nobody’… Or to get rid of this fool…” the wizard said to himself as he was scrolling down pages after pages of google searches. He found instructions on how to make a magic mirror. _Interesting._ _I better save this page and make some tests later._ Unfortunately, all the other pages the demon clicked on either had little to do with what he wanted or were obviously written by fools who had no idea how magic actually worked. This was an area where human knowledge was pretty useless.

He heard footsteps coming in his direction and growled : who dared to interrupt the lord of darkness while he was busy?

Turned out the answer was : a group of his minions forcing four chained red-clad humans to walk and kneel down before Aku’s throne.

 “What is it, minions?” the Deliverer of Darkness asked, annoyed but curious, as he closed his laptop, put it down on the armrest of his gigantic seat then increased his own size to appear more menacing than he already looked.

 “These soldiers fled the fight, my master”, one of the minions said, pointing at the humans before it.

The creature didn’t need to say more.

 “What could Aku do with you pathetic humans…” the demon thought aloud, stroking his beard. “Oh, I know! Minions, rid these fools of their uniforms and assemble the slaves and Aku’s Forces so all can see what happens to traitors.”

Only now were the four humans raising their heads and looking at each other and their master instead of staring at the ground. One of them opened his mouth to speak but no words would come. As they were forced to stand up again and leave the room, Aku laughed at the mortals as they realised they would be executed publicly.

He kept laughing long after the minions and deserters were gone. The ageless monster was in a much better mood now : very soon he would get to swat those who disobeyed his orders and show everyone _he_ was the one to be feared, all at the same time. Truly his idea was brilliant.

However, the demon stopped laughing when he got back on his computer and it refused to show him the page he wanted to see.

 “Not found? Not found????” he roared, hitting the keyboard with his fist and sending the keys flying all around. “You useless device! Show me what I want to see!”

Maybe it was time to ask this androgynous servant and their father to provide Aku a better computer…

***

Hiding her face under the hood of a blue oversized hoodie and holding a smartphone in her hand, a teenage girl was walking through the empty, only partially repaired streets, looking for a wi-fi signal. She finally arrived in the vicinity of a hotspot and connected to skype. She hid in a partially collapsed building, put the bag she was carrying on the ground next to her and her back against the wall that was still standing. She barely had the time to realise her brother was indeed online and smile before he started the video conversation.

 “ _It’s so good to see you again, sis!_ ” he said. “ _I was worried! Are you ok?_ ”

 “As ok as I can be when there’s a war going on”, she replied. “And you?”

 “ _I haven’t been able to sleep in days, but that’s not important. The UN, everyone… they want to attack Japan!_ ”

 “I’ve heard of it. They even talk about nuclear weapon! That’s _insane_.”

 “ _No, the idea of nuclear assault against Aku has been floating around but they’ll try more conventional weapons first_ ”, the girl’s older brother explained.

 “None of it will kill Aku” his sister stated. “Without the sword, he won’t die. They’ll only cause human death and destroy his tower maybe. _He_ will be just fine. He’ll just have to move somewhere else and find new slaves.”

 “… _Let me guess : no matter what I could say you’re going to fight him before the other nations finally agree on when to strike?_ ”

She nodded.

 “But actually, I wanted to call you to tell you mom and dad are alive. I saw mom from afar but couldn’t get near her and Mako told me dad was alive. There’s not much battery left in this phone so I don’t have time to give you details. Goodbye…”

 _“Wait, don’t leave yet, I have one last thing to tell you! Just… be careful, ok? This isn’t like when you pretended to fight Aku when we were kids : this time you may not get back up once it’s over…You -_ ”

The battery gave up before he could finish his sentence. The teenager put the phone back in her pocket ; she would return it to its owner as soon as she would get back to the base.

She crouched down to open the bag at her feet, pulled off the hoodie, revealing the sword strapped to her back, took her now infamous kabuto and mask from the bag and replaced them with the blue piece of clothing. Then she put her headgear back on and became Nobody again.


	19. Before the Storm (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Everything around her was suspiciously calm."

The masked girl was a bit too close to Aku’s fortress not to feel nervous. Yet, she didn’t see anyone in the street, not even a red clad servant patrolling or a slave working : everything around her was suspiciously calm. She looked up at the tower. It reminded Nobody of its evil inhabitant so much she felt like the very demon himself was staring back at her. As she shuddered and averted her gaze, turning her back to the dark building to return to her base, the wind carried a voice to her ears.

The teenager froze : she had never heard such a powerful voice before. It seemed to fill the entire city and yet it didn’t possess that distinctive echo which would indicate the use of microphones and amps that would allow such a feat possible for regular humans.

But this sound couldn’t come from any mere mortal : Nobody could feel in her guts it had to come from something much more powerful and sinister than this. Even though she had never heard it before, she was certain this voice had to be Aku’s.

She turned around again and listened while approaching the source of the sound, hiding in the shadows and advancing only when the demon was speaking. As she got closer, she saw him first, then the crowd of slaves, minions and soldiers he was talking to, then the four people kneeling next to him in their underwear.

 “As you pathetic mortals can see, I have captured these members of Nobody’s futile rebellion”, the demon stated.

 _What?_ The girl thought, watching the scene from her hiding spot behind one of those sheet metal shacks she had seen when the red-clad soldiers had captured her. _When I left the hotel none of us was missing…_

 “And the Master of Masters, the Deliverer of Darkness, the Shogun of Sorrow, the almighty Aku wants you all to remember what happens to the fools who dare to imagine they could challenge his power, since the first warning apparently wasn’t enough”, Aku continued, pointing one of his claws at the tied up woman atop his tower’s entrance as he pronounced the last part of his sentence.

Nobody unsheathed her sword as he spoke ; however she couldn’t attack him while so many of his servants were there. Therefore, remembering her promise to free the prisoners if there were any in the barracks Aku’s Forces occupied, she sliced through the sheet metal before her, the demon’s voice covering the sound of the magic blade cutting a brand new backdoor into the shack. Surely enough, there indeed was a trembling prisoner inside. The masked teenager severed the zip ties around the man’s wrists and ankles and quickly gave him the directions to the Anti-Aku base and told him to run now while the guards were distracted. As he did as instructed, the voice of the wizard stated :

 “Had Nobody not started her pitiful uprising against Aku, these people would have lived.”

The girl’s blood ran cold. She left the shack and went back to her previous hiding spot just in time to see the shape-shifter turn the fingers of his right hand into coal-black spears that went right through the so-called rebels’ bodies. She didn’t need to see more : as the demon raised his hand to show his not-yet-dead victims to the crowd, Nobody ran away.

These people weren’t even part of her troops ; Aku must have picked some innocent people for his show. However, the last part of his speech was true : their death was her fault.

***

Nobody ran as fast as she could, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure why she was crying. It could have been the grief for innocent people who died. It could have been the anger, for they died because of her. It could have been her attempt to believe that no one died because of her ; Aku's victories were not her failures. And yet she felt like they were. The only thing left to do then was to finally put an end to it all. It was time to bring the fight to this monster.

The girl managed to calm herself and get the hold of her senses by the time she returned to the hotel. With determination the likes of which she had never felt before, she marched into the building. The main hall was populated mostly with people tending the wounded. Nobody's entrance made them all look her way and she knew they must have felt her anger. John was the first person to approach her. She didn't hear him at all until he appeared next to her.

 "Everything ok? Did you get in touch with your brother?" John asked her.

 "I did. But things are not ok," she replied. "They won't be until Aku is destroyed. And he will be soon."

John took a step back, slightly frightened by those cold words spoken with a voice that sounded like a vow for revenge at all costs. The girl walked over to one of the tables where she stood up so she could be heard by everyone.

 "We strike back as soon as we assemble our troops. Take everything you can carry as a weapon."

The next few hours were spent getting ready. Every not wounded person took sticks, rocks and weapons left by Aku's Forces from the siege. They had a few stun batons and rifles. Nobody explained the plan to free the prisoners and attack the fortress. With the distraction her army would provide, she would also free her mother and prepare herself for the final battle.

The march towards the fortress passed in a haze. She was aware only of her goal, grasping the hilt of her sword and finally not just hoping, but _knowing_ that the Shogun of Sorrow would fall, no matter what. She led her small host through the alleys and towards the barracks with the prisoners. When they entered the metal shacks without a warning, there was little Aku's servants could do. In a matter of minutes, Nobody's army grew bigger with the freed prisoners.

As she suspected, the commotion attracted more servants and minions. The teenage girl sneaked out of the battle, borrowed a whip from one her comrades (the whip they took from one of the minions defeated in the siege) and headed towards the entrance of the fortress. She waited for Aku's Forces to swarm the barracks before she moved.

Her mother was still suspended above the entrance. The teenager checked once more if there were any soldiers around and then approached. She would have to climb. Shuddering at the thought of being above ground without securing belts and ropes, Nobody stood in front of the wall. In truth, she would have been equally terrified of climbing up even if she _did_ have securing belts and ropes.

Taking a deep breath, she made the first step upwards. Her hands were slippery, but she moved up. No place seemed safe enough to put her hand on and entrust it with her weight. However, she climbed nonetheless, listening to the sounds of battle in the distance. A little piece of the wall got loose under her feet and her heart leaped into her throat, but she didn't fall yet. With each step, she was closer to her mother. Nobody took more deep breaths and did not look down.

Finally, she arrived to the primitive construction made to support her mother on the wall above the entrance. The girl was breathing heavily and she carefully took the whip from her belt and tied one of its ends to the construction. She tied the other end around her arm tightly. The construction creaked when Nobody dangled from it and came closer to her mother.

The woman felt and heard the curious sounds so close to her. Slowly and painfully, she lifted her head and saw a girl with a samurai helmet and a mask. Nobody took the mask off and threw it to the ground. She would pick it up later. Now she wanted her mother to see her face.

 "Mom?" Nobody called meekly. "It's me."

It was obvious that her mother was too confused to understand. Nobody took the sword out and cut the ropes her mother was tied with. Carefully, she held her, hoping the construction would endure for a few more moments. When she was sure that she had her mother firmly in her hand along with the whip, she cut the final rope and felt the weight in her hands. It was less than she expected.

 "Mom, hold on to me."

Nobody felt her mother's hands tightly around her and started descending while still holding the whip. Once it became too short, she let it go, feeling her fear return. But she had to get down. Step by step, she chose places to put her feet on. Her hands ached terribly, as well as her legs, but Nobody returned to solid ground and her mother finally sat down, letting go of her daughter. The girl grabbed the mask and attempted to put it on her face, but her mother's hand stopped her.

 "I did not dare hope _Nobody_ was you," her mother said with a weak voice. "But who else would treat these ancient relics this way, other than you?" she added and smiled.

Nobody smiled with her. Hugging her mother, she put the mask back on her face. She could still not be a daughter; she was still a Nobody. And she had a demon to deal with.


	20. The Last Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She clutched the handle of her sword tighter to stop her hand from trembling."

Aku was smiling widely. By now the humans must have learned their lesson : it was obey their master or die. Or worse, depending on his mood. Soon he would deal with the rebels and no-one would dare to annoy him ever again.

The only problem was the sacred blade. He paced his throne room for a while thinking about it. Had Nobody not have it with her, Aku would have destroyed the fool sooner.

The demon stopped where he stood and turned around when he heard one of his minions enter.

 “Master Aku, we have located the Rope of Eons, just like you asked”, it said.

 “Very good”, Aku replied, sitting on his throne. “Now I want you to bring it to me as fast as possible.”

The creature nodded and left. This day kept getting better. With the power of controlling time itself, nothing would stop him.

A while later, one of Aku’s human servants ran into the room and stopped in front of him, panting.

 “M- My lord, there’s… I- I mean”, he told him, still trying to catch his breath. “Nobody’s… troops are… freeing the prisoners and -”

 “Then go back outside and _destroy_ them!” the demon shouted. “Aku recruited you all to be guards and soldiers! Do your job!”

 “Y-yes master, right away master” the human stammered before leaving the room even faster than he had entered it.

You could count on this foolish human female to kill the mood. _I hope you suffer a long and painful death, “Nobody”…_

***

John finally managed to escape the fight and spot Nobody as she was carrying a middle-aged woman farther away from the tower. He joined them and helped his friend carry the adult. The latter didn’t weight much. She was using all the strength she had left in her body not to fall from the youngsters’ shoulders.

She and Nobody exchanged a few words in their native language before stopping in front of the first house they found.

 “Protect her while I take care of Aku”, the masked girl instructed the foreigner while carefully helping the woman to sit against the house’s outer wall.

As Nobody was about to leave, John grabbed her arm to stop her.

 “Wait”, he told her, “I’ve found something in my father’s bag that could be useful… I wanted to give it to you earlier.”

The young man rummaged through the front pocket of his hoodie before producing from it one of these cameras that were meant to be strapped to a person’s chest.

 “You’ll need proof that the bastard’s really dead”, he said.

The girl nodded and let her friend attach the camera to her torso. Then, she produced her journal from her own pocket, turned to the middle-aged woman, crouched down and gave it to her.

As the teenage girl stood back up, John opened his mouth to ask her why, then closed it when she said goodbye and left them to go back to the dark tower.

***

Nobody turned John’s camera on as she entered the tower through the back door. Her footsteps were the only sound and the sword in her hand her only company, as all of Aku’s soldiers and minions were outside. She found the stairs and started climbing them. They seemed endless.

When they finally did end, the teenager paused for a while. What if the demon wasn’t on top of his tower? _What if he was?_ She clutched the handle of her sword tighter to stop her hand from trembling. She opened a door and took a few steps further. The walls of the circular room seemed to be made of petrified flames. She doubted his slaves could have sculpted them. In the centre was a giant pit the teenager didn’t dare to look into.

 “Hello?” she called, her voice barely more than a whisper.

She stood where a portion of the floor was pointing towards the centre of the pit, clutched her sword with both her hands, took a deep breath and shouted with more confidence than she actually felt :

 “Where are you Aku? Are you afraid to fight me?”

A humongous black spike rose from the pit, creating a gust of wind that made Nobody shiver. And then, the demon and the girl were finally face to face.

Aku could smell the scent of blood coming from the human despite her not having any visible injury. It wasn’t just any blood… Of course. He should have seen it coming.

 “I recognise your blood. You’re the descendant of the fool who imprisoned me many years ago, aren’t you?”

It was more of a rhetorical question than anything, yet she replied anyway, holding the sword firmly in her hands :

 “I don’t know, you tell me.”

 “You’re the archaeologist’s daughter.”

Why did her white shirt seem so familiar? And what was the device strapped to her chest? The demon was certain to have seen something like this on the internet.

Nobody took a few steps back.

 “Guess I won’t need that anymore”, she said while taking her mask and helmet off and tossing them behind her.

Then Aku understood : she also was the girl from his vision. His victorious smile bared his fangs as everything now made sense : his enemy would die today and he would have her corpse attached next to her mother on the front of his fortress.

 “What have we here?” he said. “Humanity’s last hope is barely more than a child… who is going to suffer an early demise.”

The Shogun of Sorrow burst out laughing, sending chills down Nobody’s spine. Then, his body changed and took the form of a giant gorilla-like creature (even though he still kept his horns and flaming eyebrows) which landed right in front of the girl, making the tower shake.

 “…Shit” was all Nobody could reply.

 “Watch your language, child”, Aku said, punching the teenager and sending her to the floor.

Before she could get back up, he ripped the device from her chest. The shape-shifter indeed had seen something alike in the past months : it looked like one of these things humans used to capture and record images. _With this I will be able to watch Nobody’s demise as many times as I please…_

He placed the camera atop one of the petrified flames, hoping to get a better angle from up there. Meanwhile, Nobody stood up, ran towards Aku and cut his hand off, causing him to scream in pain. The girl dodged the demon’s next attack and stabbed him in the chest ; he stepped back right away to get the blade unstuck but fell in the pit in the process.

The teenager barely had the time to take another breath when a giant black spider with flames above its eyes crawled up the opposite wall and walked on the ceiling in her direction. She turned around as the demon arrived behind her, blocking her path to the exit door. One of Aku’s eight pointy legs flew straight towards Nobody who raised her sword and cut a chunk of his arachnidian limb before running right under him, raising her blade in the air to slice his belly as she moved. The demon jumped back to the ceiling to avoid the burning of the enchanted weapon and changed shape again.

This new form didn’t look like any real-life animal the teenager had ever seen. Aku’s body was now a sphere with a face and multiple tentacles, some of which attached themselves to the petrified flames around the monster to prevent him from falling again. His free tentacles attacked Nobody as she ran around the pit, either avoiding or slashing them. As she got right under one of those that supported the demon’s weight, she jumped as high as she could, holding her blade above her head and cutting it. Before her feet could get back on the ground, another tentacle caught her in mid air and brought her before the monster’s face.

 “Now, _you die_ , child”, Aku said, knowing that even Nobody couldn’t be foolish enough to cut the only thing that was currently preventing her from falling down the pit.

 “You first. I insist.”

The shape-shifter threw the human girl against the wall and, to her, everything went black for a second.

When she finally managed to stand up again, Aku, now in the form of giant snake, wrapped himself around the lower part of the girl’s body while staring directly into her eyes.

 “How does it feel when your life is about to end?” he asked while tightening his grip around Nobody and baring his fangs.

This time, she didn’t offer any witty comeback : instead she freed herself from the demon’s grasp by slashing him with her blade as many times as she could, anywhere as long as it touched him, and ended up cutting his head off. She kept slicing the body into pieces, reducing the dark substance Aku was made off to a burning crisp which she made disappear by her repeated strokes. Meanwhile, the head was crawling away from this fury.

When she noticed, she threw her sword at it, and soon what was left of the Deliverer of Darkness was absorbed into the blade. _No_ , he thought, _this isn’t how the vision went! How can it be?_

The teenage girl picked up the sword whose blade had turned black from Aku’s presence within it. He had to think of something fast, something that would buy him time. His vision couldn’t be wrong.

 “I will return”, he told Nobody as she was staring at her weapon. “Neither your ancestor nor the sword had the power to slay me forever.”

 “That’s the thing, isn’t it? If I banish you like the emperor did, you’ll break free eventually and history will repeat itself again…” she responded.

She needed to ponder the situation a bit more but didn’t have time to do so, as everyone was counting on her to slay this ancient evil. What if he was right and she couldn’t kill him for good? _No, this is exactly what he wants me to believe._ She pointed the sword at the floor, freeing the demon. He was now lying before her in a human-sized version of his default form, visibly tired. However, the girl had unwittingly given him the time to recover _just_ enough energy to try one last desperate attack.

Right before she could give him the coup de grace, he turned his right arm into a long black spike and pressed it against her belly.

 “If you strike me now, it shall be the very last thing you _ever_ do”, he stated.

Contrary to what he expected, Aku didn’t see any fear or hesitation in the human’s eyes : she had already accepted her fate.

 “I’m willing to make this sacrifice”, she said.

They both dealt the final blow at the same time. The demon’s cry of agony shook the entire fortress ; the girl’s grip on the handle of her sword loosened and the ancient weapon fell into the pit.


	21. Epilogue : The Story of Nobody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She will be remembered : her family and friends would make sure of it."

The teenager fell to her knees, clutching her belly as if it could be enough to stop the blood escaping from her wound. It spread all over her white shirt and her hands. She was breathing heavily and struggling to stand up.

When she finally managed to get back on her feet and take a step forward, she stumbled again and ended up on all fours. And yet, she continued on, crawling towards the exit door. She picked up her mask on the way and approached the stairs. _I must tell the others… gotta hold on a little bit longer…_ She stood up again, her free hand against the wall to keep her balance. She didn’t have much time left.

The girl heard footsteps coming towards her as she climbed down the first portion of the stairs. Then, a familiar voice made itself heard. A voice which was calling a name, her name. She started smiling despite the pain and the blood loss from her wound : no-one had called her by that name since everything began.

 “Dad?” she replied.

She hoped he had heard her : she didn’t have enough strength to shout.

The wounded heroine slipped and fell down the stairs ; happily, she was caught rather quickly by her father who would no longer need the red and black uniform he was wearing, her mother who now was able to stand again, and John who immediately started carrying her, soon helped by the adults.

 “I… I did it”, she said in Japanese then repeated in English to make sure the foreigner understood as well. “B-but the camera, it’s still -”

 “Save your strength”, her father advised her, “we’ll get someone to heal your wound and…”

 “No, dad… it’s too late. But at least I saved everyone else…”

No-one replied. They all knew she was right.

 “Where’s Mako?” she asked. “Tell them I’m sorry… for everything.”

By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, the archaeologist’s daughter had already gone to the other side.

***

It took some time and help from all over the world to rebuild what needed to be. John, Mako and their friend’s parents lent a hand in the reconstruction of the city. Meanwhile, the video of Nobody’s battle against Aku and her heroic sacrifice was being viewed by people from every continent. She will be remembered : her family and friends would make sure of it.

The four made their way to the museum, which was still under reconstruction and not open to the public yet ; however the archaeologist and those who accompanied her were allowed to enter without any problem. After all, a good number of the relics from the past exposed here before Aku destroyed the city had been found thanks to her and her team.

And now was the time to place something else where the lost sword used to be. Something which had been made long ago but acquired a whole new meaning only recently : Nobody’s mask. They stood there for a long while after the glass case was closed. No-one spoke a single word.

The deceased teenager’s father was crying silently while her mother reached for her pocket where the journal had been ever since she gave it to her. John buried both his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie and stared at the floor in an attempt to hide his tears. Mako played absent-mindedly with the hems of their white shirt and blue skirt for a while, then left the room without a word. It was like their best friend’s funeral all over again…

The others left them alone for a while before the young man from Scotland started looking for them in the next room. This time, it was in Japanese that he asked Mako if they were ok.

 “No”, they replied in English. “She is… was my best friend since… for as long as I can remember. And the last time I saw her, I yelled at her…”

The foreigner didn’t know what to say, so he simply hugged his new friend tightly.

He soon had to let them go : it was time to get to the newly reconstructed airport where the archaeologist’s son would arrive any minute now.

 “Are you sure you want to leave, Mako?” the middle-aged man asked as they were all waiting for his son to land. “You could live with us.”

 “Yes, I’m sure”, they replied. “There’s nothing for me here now.”

Some time after the archaeologist’s son had returned to his family and John and Mako had left for Scotland, the museum’s staff added a brand new plate right next to the one about the emperor’s tale.

This one was about the story of Nobody.


End file.
